Turn Back Time
by ASlaveToWords
Summary: While exploring the American base, the bladebreakers learn their lesson for snooping as Kai and Ray get into a "tiny" mess and Max and Tyson have to help them out of it. How will their shared experience affect their relationship. Max/Ray & Tyson/Kai
1. Chapter 1: Stop And Stare

**AN:** Yea, yea, I know; another beyblade, over-done, Chibi story. Buuut, I'm kinda hoping this one is a little more original. Also, USUALLY it's Max and Tyson who are chibi-ized, this time it's Kai and Ray. Anywho, let me know what you guys think OK? I wanna know if I should continue.

**Warnings:** Yaoi; Max/Ray, Tyson/Kai

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beyblade or any of the characters.

* * *

"I really don't think this is a good idea you guys..."

Max looked over at Kenny, whom was clutching his laptop to his chest like a life line, and grinned.

"You worry too much chief." The blonde said cheerfully. "We're not really doing anything wrong, we're just... exploring."

Kenny frowned and looked around nervously as the Bladebreakers continued down the hall of the American training facility. They had all gone to America for a visit and Max had decided to go visit his mother. The others came along for company but the blonde was disappointed to find that his mother and her team were gone on a sort of vacation of their own. It was now their last day in America and the five teens had decided to take one last visit to the facility to see if the All Stars were back. Finding that they weren't, the teens began exploring the building, planning to claim to be lost if they were caught.

"Hey you guys! Look at this!"

The others turned to Tyson as he poked his head into a room off to their right. They all went to examine the room and gazed in amazement at the multitude of bottles, beacons and boxes scattered all over. They all walked inside and each began to examine the many items, which all seemed to contain chemicals and experiments of some sort.

"Wow..." Max said in awe. "I wonder what it's all for?"

Just as the blonde moved in to inspect a strange looking red liquid, he accidentally bumped into a rather unsteady looking shelf. This caused something from way up on it's top shelf to topple over, plummeting it's way towards the blonde unbeknown to him. Fortunately for Max, Ray saw what had happened and jumped to quickly push the blonde out of the way. Unfortunately for Ray, he didn't have time to move and got doused with the liquid instead.

At the time this ordeal had occurred, Tyson had picked up an identical beacon of whatever had fallen on Ray and began to shake it experimentally. Seeing this, Kai rolled his eyes before reaching out to snatch the beacon away.

"Don't shake it you moron! You don't know what it-"

Kai was silenced as the liquid from the beacon exploded into his face like a bottle of shaken pop.

Both older teens now having been covered in some strange, unknown red liquid -- which oddly smelled like baby powder -- the Bladebreakers simply stopped and starred. After a long while of silence, and seeing as nothing had happened, Max and Tyson looked at Kai, who seemed none to impressed, and then at Ray, who simply sighed and frowned. The two exchanged looks and blinked at each other before finally bursting into laughter. Max doubled over, holding his stomach and Tyson threw his head back as roars of raucous laughter emitted from the two. Even Kenny braved a giggle until a death-glare from Kai quickly shut him up.

"You two look.... you look like... you-"

Max stopped, unable to say anything more through his laughter.

Finally having enough, Kai growled and reached for a rag on a desk near by.

"Haha, hilarious." He growled as he wiped his face.

"Yea, well, you shouldn't have taken it from me." Tyson said in a 'serves-you-right' tone, resisting another laugh.

Kai grumbled to himself as Ray too wiped his face with an acquired rag, looking a bit more good-natured then Kai. Glancing at the captain, Ray smiled and shook his head, then looked back at his younger teammates.

"Anyway, I think we've had enough fun for one day. We should take this as a warning."

Max and Tyson grinned and nodded.

"Yea, you're probably right." Max agreed.

The two younger teens took one more glance at the older boys before snorting in amusement and turning to leave the room. Kenny looked at Kai and Ray as well and he too hid a grin as he turned and followed the other two out. Kai sighed and left, leaving Ray to follow behind with an amused smile on his face for his Captain.

* * *

Finally back in Bey City, Tyson plopped down on the couch as Max came and sat down on the one opposite him. The journey home had worn them out and they were dead tired. Kai and Ray had gone to unpack and Kenny had gone home to sleep. The two teens had just tilted their heads back and closed their eyes when someone clearing their throat forced them up.

Looking up ahead of them, the two younger boys saw a very irritated looking Kai and a calm-as-usual Ray.

"Is this what you call funny?" He asked in annoyance, holding up one of his shirts.

Max and Tyson exchanged confused looks.

"Uh... not really." Tyson replied. "I know you don't have much of a sense of humor Kai, but even I don't think there's anything funny about a plain old black shirt."

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Don't push me Tyson." He said dangerously. "I'm not in the mood."

Tyson glared at his Captain.

"What's your problem? All I see is a shirt, the same kind you always wear! I don't see what you're getting worked up about!"

Kai grounded his teeth before opening his mouth again, but Ray cut him off before he could speak.

"Most of our clothes are too big for us and we thought you two might of been playing a joke on us."

Tyson snorted indignantly.

"Well you thought wrong, Ray." He said, sounding a little insulted. "You have no worries about me touch your clothes Kai!"

Max, looking thoughtful, stood up and walked up to the two.

"Can I see?" He asked curiously.

Ray held up a shirt of his own for the blonde to inspect and after taking it in his hands and holding it to his body, then sizing it up carefully, Max finally shook his head.

"This is the same size as it always was. You let me borrow it in America when I wasted drink on mine remember?... Maybe you guys are just tired."

Max looked up at Ray and gasped, shocked to see that he was actually eye level with the boy; whom was usually taller then the blonde. Everyone else seemed to notice this too and their faces matched Max's.

"You're... you're... How am I-?"

The four bladders remained silent for a few moments, then exchanged looks.

"Sleep!" The said in unison.

And without another word, the four turned and went their separate ways to go to bed.

* * *

Kai awoke the next morning and stretched hard, the regular ache in his muscles seeming to have gone away. This made him smile as he couldn't remember the last time his body didn't ache and pain from a mix of stress and over-exertion. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and got up, stumbling when he hit the floor and noticed the bed seemed a little further away from it today. Maybe he should sleep for another while. Looking up at the clock beside his bed, Kai saw the time was eight-thirty and decided he'd already slept far too late already.

Kai walked out of his room and into the bathroom and got a quick shower, then returned to his room to get dressed. He frowned when he again noticed his clothes were too big for him. Brushing this aside and vowing to get to the bottom of it later, he reached up to his dresser and got his face paint, bewildered about the fact that he had to reach at all. Again brushing the fact aside, Kai dipped his fingers into the small tin and streaked his fingers across his cheeks, making sure to get the shape exactly right.

Once all that was done, the dual-haired teen left his room again and headed to the kitchen for his morning coffee.

* * *

Finally finished his shower and regular morning routine, Ray walked to his dresser and picked up his hair wrap. He proceeded to absently wrap his long locks as he starred down at his clothes with a frown. He was wearing a shirt and pants that hadn't fit him in years and now they were too big on him -- everything else he had had fallen off of him. Finally reaching the bottom of his hair, with only a small tuft poking out as usual, Ray went to tie the wrap at the bottom but gasped in shock at what he saw. His hair wrap was too long for his hair, it had a good foot or so hanging off the end. Had it stretched, had he lost some of his hair over night? Or in the shower? Examining his hair and deciding it was the same length as always, Ray deduced that the wrap must have stretched and simply tucked the end of it around itself. He then sighed and threw his hair over his shoulder before walking down to the kitchen for his morning tea with Kai.

* * *

"Morning Kai."

Kai grunted in response from his place behind the refrigerator door. His temper was slowly wearing very thin. His morning had started out well what with him being pain and stress free, but everything after that had been terrible. Now, as if mocking him, he couldn't seem to find the milk.

"Have you noticed anything.... strange this morning?" Ray questioned a little cautiously.

Kai froze in his search. Yes! His entire morning had been 'strange', for lack of a better word! But there was no way he was going to express his thoughts and concerns to Ray, not this time. He knew how paranoid and dumb it would sound.

"No. Why do you ask?"

Kai heard Ray sigh.

"I don't know, just... some things are a little... off for me today. I was wondering if you had the same problem."

Kai considered this. Maybe Ray was having the same problems he was; after all, he'd thought his clothes seemed a little big the day before too. If so, then Ray wouldn't think Kai sounded paranoid if he expressed his thoughts.

_"Ah, there's the milk!"_

Kai grabbed the can of milk and extracted it from the refrigerator before closing the door and turning to look at Ray.

"Well, now that you mention it-"

Kai froze, his eyes widened when he saw Ray. The other teen's face matched his.

Suddenly, in nothing short of an extreme panic, both boys bolted from the kitchen in direction of the large mirror in the hall between that room and the living room. When they skidded to a stop in front of it, their eyes widened in horror at the image that greeted them.

* * *

Max and Tyson both bolted up in their beds as a pair of blood-curdling screams met their ears. Without a second thought they both jumped out of bed and bolted from their rooms, almost bumping into each other as they ran down the hall.

"What he heck was that?!" Max asked breathlessly as the two ran. Tyson shook his head.

"I don't know, but it kinda sounded like a kid's scream."

Max bit his cheek worriedly.

"I thought so too...."

Finally the two teens skidded into the hallway between the living room and the kitchen and starred in shock. Standing before them were two small children, looking to be about eight or nine at the most.

"Who are you?" Max asked the two in surprise.

"And what are you doing in our house?" Tyson added.

The two children turned to the teens and Max and Tyson gasped loudly.

"R-R-Ray?!" He exclaimed in shock. Tyson's eyes widened.

"Kai!" He added. "It's gotta be them! No kid I've ever seen actually wraps their own hair like Ray and Kai's the only person in the world who won't leave his room without his face paint!"

Max looked horrified.

"What happened to them?!"

"I don't know!" Little Kai said angrily, stomping his foot as he narrowed his eyes threateningly. "But there better be some damn way to fix it or someone's gonna pay!"

Blinking at the now small boy before them, Max and Tyson suddenly found the situation extremely amusing. The mix of Kai's miniature appearance, along with his childish antics and the death threats spoken by his premature voice was enough to send the two into a fit of laughter.

"Ya know, that used to sound so much scarier when I actually had to look up at him!" Tyson roared through his laughter.

Unlike the day before, Ray failed to find humor in his own situation this time and starred up at the teens before him with a frown.

"I'm glad you're both enjoying yourselves." He said with his new infant voice, making it very hard to take him seriously. "But this is serious. We've got to figure out what happened and fix it. My guess is that this happened because of the stuff that spilled on Kai and myself at the American base yesterday."

Finally, with much effort, Tyson and Max sobered up a bit, wide grins on their faces as they starred down at the two infants.

"You're right." Max said, trying to contain his laughter. "I'll go call my mom and ask her about it."

Everyone went into the living room and Max sat on the couch as he took the phone in his hands and called his mother. After a few rings, she finally picked up. Max put her on speaker.

"Hello there Maxie! I'm sorry I missed you guys this week, we were off training in Peru. How are you?"

Max smiled.

"I'm fine mom. But I- we, sort of have a problem we need your help with."

"OK, I'll be happy to help you if I can Max."

Max couldn't hold back a grin as he looked over at ray and Kai's calm and angry faces.

"Well, we sort got into something yesterday when we were at the facility."

"Max." Judy said warningly. "I told you not to wander around without me there."

Judy sighed heavily and Max could picture the deep frown on her face and couldn't help but feel guilty.

"What happened?" She asked wearily.

"Well.." Max began slowly. "Ray and Kai uh... they got some red stuff wasted on them. It kinda smelled like baby powder."

There was a long silence from the other end of the line and all four boys held their breaths as they waited for Judy Tate to explode. Finally, when the boys felt like they were going to keel over from the anticipation, they heard loud laughter from the phone and starred at it in shock.

"And now they're children right?" She asked, sounding greatly amused. Max blinked at the phone.

"Uh... yea."

Judy chuckled again.

"Well, that serves you right, maybe next time you'll listen to me."

Max sighed, no longer finding the situation funny.

"What do we do?"

"How old do they look?" Judy asked. Max looked back at the two infants who had, just hours before, been older then him.

"Um.... I don't know... eight or nine maybe?"

Judy laughed again.

"Then they're not finished yet."

Max sighed in relief.

"So they'll change back?" He asked hopefully.

"Maybe."

All four boys' eyes widened.

"Maybe?" Little Kai exclaimed in horror. "What do you mean maybe?!"

Judy laughed heartily.

"Who am I speaking to?"

"Kai!" Kai said indignantly and they could practically see Judy grinning.

"I mean, Kai, that you're not done..... going backwards yet. By the time Kai and Ray are done, they'll be about four or five years old and they won't remember a thing from when they were older."

Kai and Ray's faces paled and they looked like they'd just been told they were going to die.

"What?!" Both boys hollered in alarm. Ray ran at the phone and clutched it in his hands.

"No! Please, isn't there anything we can do! Can't you fix us?!"

"Nope." Judy said bluntly. "You'll just have to wait for it to finish it's job."

"How long will that take?" Kai moaned in terror. Judy paused as she thought.

"Mmmm.... usually about a few weeks or so. It was different for all our volunteers."

"WEEKS?!" Kai and Ray shrieked. Finally they plopped down onto the floor in distress, unable to bare their own helplessness.

"What do we do?" Max asked his mother, feeling very sorry for his teammates now."

Now Judy grew serious.

"I can't tell you that Max, every case is different so you'll have to figure it out for yourself. But I will tell you this; in each case there's something that makes the children grow up, something different for almost everyone. If you don't figure this thing out and do it, then they won't grow up again.

For example, with Emily we had to make sure we read to her and make sure there was lots for her to read when she was old enough to do it herself; she took about four weeks. With Michael we had to give him lots of attention and make sure he got what he wanted; he took about three and a half weeks. Another boy who took it had to have someone with him all the time and we had to make sure he never felt alone or neglected, he took about four weeks too.

So, once you figure out what it is the children need then you can get started. Just make sure you keep whatever it is up or they'll never grow. If they took it yesterday and they're still at that age now, then they should stop by sometime this evening your time. When they do, then you can start looking for whatever it is they need."

Judy chuckled again.

"I just hope it isn't as tiring and stressful as Michael was for us.... then again, like I said; it would serve you all right! Anyway, I have a meeting to go to so I've gotta go. Good luck boys! Take care Maxie!"

"Mom, wait!"

Max sighed as he heard the dial tone. He then looked down at Ray and Kai on the floor and gave them a sympathetic, lopsided smile.

"This should be fun." He said sarcastically.

Ray and Kai both frowned at him, their expressions hopeless as they both looked like they were actually ready to cry.


	2. Chapter 2: Where Do We Go From Here

**A/N:** Here's the next one guys, I hope you like it. This, I'm pretty sure, is going to be a fairly short story (surprise, lol), but I'd really like to know what you guys think and know your opinions on this one; I'm kinda iffy on this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade or any of the characters

* * *

"So.... where do we start?"

Max looked at Tyson who was rubbing his arm nervously as he starred down at their two ccharges. The blonde sighed and looked down at Ray and Kai as well, both of whom looked to be about four or five now.

"I don't know." He replied uncertainly.

Hillary was on vacation and they knew they weren't gonna get any help from Kenny. He'd come by earlier that day and hurriedly left when he'd realized what had happened.

"I-I-I'm not good with children!" The younger boy had stuttered nervously. "Give me a call when they're back to normal!"

And just like that, Kenny had disappeared.

Max and Tyson had found baby clothes of theirs in their own attics and these were the items currently being worn by their two; formerly older; beyblading teammates. It had taken a while; what with finding clothes for Ray and Kai, and calling ahead to cancel all plans and schedules for the next few weeks, but eventually Max and Tyson had gotten everything straightened out -- or at least, almost everything.

Max sighed.

"I guess we could always start with everything mom tried with the others."

Tyson nodded.

"Yea, OK. That's a good idea."

"Well, they read Emily lots of books. Why not start there?"

Again Tyson nodded in agreement.

"OK."

Max knelt down to the children's eye level and Tyson crouched down on his knees.

"How about a story guys?" The blonde asked with a smile.

Ray and Kai exchanged looks before looking back at the older boys and blinking silently. Max and Tyson exchanged looks too.

"Can't they talk?" Tyson inquired in confusion. "Don't most kids talk at this age?"

As if answering the indirect question, Ray spoke up timidly.

"Who are you?"

The older boys looked down at the children and blinked at them.

"Who are- don't you remember us?" Tyson asked in bewilderment. The children shook their heads and Max sighed.

"They don't have any of their memories anymore, remember Tyson? Mom said they''ll forget everything.... Guess well have to start at the bottom and work our way up."

Max smiled at the children and extended his hand.

"I'm Max." He said kindly.

The children stared at Max's hand for a moment and it was Kai who eventually stepped up and shook the blonde's hand.

"Kai." He said confidently. Then he looked at Tyson. "Who are you?"

Tyson, feeling a little awkward, extended his hand as well.

"Name's Tyson, buddy!"

Kai eyed the blunette oddly for a moment, then finally smiled and shook Tyson's hand.

Watching Kai's display, Ray finally stepped up to Max and shook the hand still extended for him.

"My name Ray." He said politely, shaking first Max's hand, then Tyson's.

"Nice to meet you Ray." Max said kindly. "So, is there anything you guys would like to do?"

"Mmmm.... play outside." Ray replied. Kai nodded.

"Me too." Kai added.

"Easy enough." Tyson said with a small laugh.

Both teens stood up and extended their hands for the children to take. Ray automatically wrapped his small fingers around Max's but Kai lifted an eyebrow at Tyson.

"Don't need help." He said indignantly. "Can walk myself."

Ray rolled his eyes at Kai and Max chewed the side of his cheek, waiting to see how Tyson would react. Tyson couldn't help but smile.

"No, but I do. Won't you help me?"

Kai starred up at Tyson for a moment, then sighed dramatically.

"Guess so." He said, as if he were doing the elder blunette some great favor.

Max smiled at him and Tyson gave the blonde a wink. The four then proceeded to the front of the house and went outside.

* * *

Max stopped on the step and looked around at the yard before looking down at the two small boys.

"OK, there's only one rule; don't go outside the wall OK guys?"

"Why?" Ray asked curiously, looking up at the blonde.

"Because it's dangerous." Max said gently, a stern look on his face. Ray nodded solemnly.

"OK Max."

Max smiled at Ray and looked over at Kai.

"Do you understand Kai?" Tyson asked the small blunette. Kai nodded.

"Yea." He said simply. The two teens smiled.

"OK, go play." Max said.

Kai let go of Tyson's hand and headed over to the koi pond to play with the fish. Ray on the other hand kept a hold of Max's hand.

"What's wrong Ray?" Max asked kindly. Ray looked up at him.

"No trees?" He asked in disappointment. Max tilted his head to one side in confusion.

"Um... there's one in the back yard."

Ray's face brightened a little.

"Show me!" He said enthusiastically. Max gave Tyson a smile as he lead Ray away to the back yard, causing the blunette to smile and shake his head.

When Max and Ray were gone, Tyson walked over to the koi pond and knelt down next to Kai. He watched the small boy swirl his finger in the water and grinned each time one of the fish bobbed up to touch his finger, making the dual-haired boy fight a smile. This Tyson noticed.

"Wanna see something cool?" Tyson asked eventually. Kai looked up at him and starred for a moment, but finally nodded.

"OK."

Tyson smiled and reached to a large container nearby. He popped the top and reached his hand inside, then pulled out a bunch of pellets.

"Watch this." Tyson said.

Tyson picked up a pellet and held it over the water, waiting for the fish to notice. When they finally did, they began jumping and nudging Tyson's hand to encourage him to drop them. Tyson teased them for a few moments, then finally dropped one for each fish.

Kai's eyes widened as he watched the fish's antics. He never imagined that fish would do that.

"Wow!" Kai exclaimed, unable to hide his amazement. He then looked up at Tyson. "I try?"

Tyson laughed and nodded, then held out his hand to give the pellets to Kai. All the while the fish watched the exchange and began jumping for Kai when the boy had the treats in his hand. A huge grin lit the small blunette's face as he held the treats over the water.

This went on for a long time and Tyson couldn't help but wish that grown-up Kai was as fun as Chibi Kai.

"You have to remember though," Tyson said warningly "you can only give each of them three or four a day OK?"

Kai dropped another treat each into the water and looked up at Tyson.

"Why?" He asked curiously. Tyson smiled at the adorable look on the boy's face.

"Because if you feed them too much they could get sick.... or die."

Kai looked shocked.

"Die?" He gasped. Tyson gave him a warm smile.

"Only if you feed them too much."

Kai looked down at the pellets in his hands then at the fish and frowned. Knowing what he was thinking, Tyson smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, you can give them a little more."

Kai looked up at Tyson again, the frown still on his face.

"Sure?" He asked uncertainly. Tyson reached out to place a hand on his shoulder and gave him another warm smile.

"I'm sure." He said softly. "Trust me."

Kai starred at Tyson for a few moments, then smiled and nodded.

"Trust you Tyson." He said happily, then looked down at the pond and began playing with the fish again.

Tyson retracted his hand and swallowed. Those words meant more to him then the tiny boy could ever imagine. Tyson imagined older Kai saying that to him, with that look, and meaning it as much as the boy before him did.

_"I trust you Tyson."_

How could such simple words affect him so much?

Tyson frowned. He tried to tell himself to remember that when Kai was back to normal again, he'd be the same, cold, emotionless Kai that he always was. No matter what chibi Kai said and did, grown-up Kai would be so much different, and Tyson knew he had to remember that.

With a deep sigh, Tyson sat back on the ground as he watched Kai play. Apparently, the next few weeks were going to be a lot harder then he'd thought.

* * *

Max smiled at Ray as he gathered leaves from ground in Tyson's backyard. Max was sitting at the base of the tree and watching Ray go about his business. So far he'd gathered an armful of leaves which he'd placed at Max's feet and was now collecting small twigs. The blonde smiled as he remembered Ray's reaction to the enormous tree.

_"Wow!!" _He'd exclaimed in awe_. "So pretty! Pretty, right Max?"_

_"That's right Ray, very pretty."_

Immediately Ray had gone about picking up leaves and Max had watched him curiously, eventually taking refuge at the base of the tree. He eyed Ray in confusion when the small child began to feel around the base of the tree trunk, seemingly looking for something. He understood when Ray pulled his hand back and a long line of tree sap came with it. Ray dipped the sticks into the sap then walked away from the tree and over to the leaf pile, Max still watching him curiously. Ray sat down on the ground at Max's feet and began sticking the leaves to the sap-covered twigs, then stuck those together. When he was finally finished, he looked at his masterpiece, then looked up at Max with a proud grin.

"See, Max? Pretty Tree! My pretty tree."

Max grinned wide. He always knew Ray was clever but he couldn't help but be a little amazed that he'd kept that cleverness even at this age.

"That's very good Ray." Max praised. "You're right, it is very pretty."

Ray's grin widened and he scrambled to his feet and made his way over to the blonde. Once in front of him, he held the rather sticky masterpiece out to the blonde.

"For you."

Max felt touched as he reached out and took the twig, his own grin widening in amusement as he immediately felt the sticky sap coat his hands.

"Thank you Ray, I'll keep it forever."

Ray grinned again, then looked up at the huge tree. He starred at it for a long time, then finally looked back at Max.

"Wanna go up top." Ray said seriously. Max frowned and tilted his head back to look up the tree. Noting the height, he looked back at Ray again.

"No, Ray... It's too high.."

Ray frowned.

"No it's not... Please, Max?"

Max bit the side of his cheek, knowing he would eventually cave under the adorable look Ray was giving him. Eventually, as he expected, he sighed and finally broke.

"OK, but here's the deal; I'll climb up with you and we only go half way. OK?"

Ray looked up at the tree and hummed while he considered this.

"Mmmmmm.... OK."

Max smiled and stood up. He knew Ray wouldn't have been able to climb the tree on his own anyway, and it really wasn't that high, but Ray was only a child and Max didn't want him to get hurt. Also, he had to make sure Ray stayed happy or he'd never grow up again, so he didn't want to upset the boy.

The blonde reached up and hoisted himself up onto a thick, wide branch. He then leaned down and reached for Ray.

"Give me your hands Ray."

Ray lifted his hands but was too short so Max had to shift his position and reach further. Eventually he managed to grab the boy's hands and hoisted him up onto the branch with him, grinning at the stickiness still on the tiny fingers. The branch was only five or six feet in height at most, but Max knew that to a small child, that was a lot.

Once Ray was seated next to Max and the blonde was sure he wouldn't fall, they leaned back against the trunk and starred across the garden. Ray looked around for a few moments, then looked at Max and gave him a wide smile.

"Thank you Max." He said happily. Max returned the smile.

"You're welcome buddy."

Max looked back out over the scenery again and Ray copied him. Soon the blonde felt a pair of eyes on him and looked back down to see that Ray was starring at him.

When the blonde looked at him, Ray tilted his head to one side slightly.

"Pretty eyes Max." Ray said innocently. Max gaped at the small boy.

"Um.. T-thank you Ray!" He said awkwardly, his face flushing as he imagined a grown-up Ray telling him that.

Seeing Max was happy with what had merely been a statement to him, Ray grinned happily and looked back out over the scenery again.

"Welcome!" He said cheerfully.

Max this time starred at Ray. Like Tyson he now realized that things weren't going to be quite as easy as they'd expected. The children were bound to say all sorts of odd, surprising, and sometimes shocking things, all of which would seem so meaningless and harmless to them. Max and Tyson would have to be careful with the words passed between them and the small boys, for these children weren't like normal children; they were, in fact, teenagers made Chibi. While Ray and Kai themselves didn't know this, Max and Tyson knew and the latters would have to remember that the innocent words were exactly that while the boys were like this -- innocent words.

Max's thoughts were interrupted as a familiar sound met his ears.

"Sounds like someone's hungry." He said playfully.

Ray looked a little embarrassed at his stomach's tattletale rumbling and grinned at Max sheepishly.

"Little bit." He admitted sheepishly.

Max laughed and jumped down from the tree. He reached up for Ray and Ray stretched his arms down to Max, allowing the blonde to hoist him downward. Max placed Ray on the ground but didn't miss the disappointed and longing look on the child's face when he did so. Only thing was, he wasn't sure why it had appeared. Brushing the thought aside for now, Max reached his hand down to Ray and Ray again took it with a wide smile.

"Whatta ya say we find Tyson and Kai and get some supper huh?"

Ray nodded enthusiastically and Max smiled as he lead the boy back to the front yard again.

* * *

"No, no! Not in there!"

Ray jumped at little at Max's outburst and looked at the blonde in surprise, his hand hovering over a pot ready to drop a green herb inside. Seeing the look on the boy's face, Max gave him a warm smile.

"I'm sorry Ray, I didn't mean to yell at you. Put that piece in this pot, OK?"

Ray smiled brightly and nodded, dropping the leafy ingredient into the pot Max had gestured to.

"Good job." Max said with a smile.

Ray shifted on the chair he was standing on and looked around at the many items on the counter.

"What now Max?"

Max smiled at him again as he put the garlic bread in the oven.

"Now we just have to wait for the spaghetti to cook."

"Oh." Ray said, looking around at all the ingredients again.

"How 'bout this stuff?"

"We're all done with this stuff now, so now we can put it away."

"I help!" Ray said enthusiastically, climbing down from his chair.

Max laughed again, then re-wrapped the mozzarella cheese and handed it to Ray.

"OK. That goes back in the fridge."

Ray took the cheese and Max gathered the remainder of the ingredients and walked over to the fridge as well. When everything was all put away, Ray ran back over to the chair and climbed back up, looking around for more. He eventually spotted the container of unused noodles and looked at Max.

"What 'bout that?" He asked, pointing to the container.

"They have to go back up into the cupboard." Max explained.

"I do it!" Ray said enthusiastically, making Max laugh yet again. Ray grabbed the container from the counter and reached up to the cupboards, his fingers barely brushing the bottom of the door and managing to get it open. Max watched as he struggled for a bit, unable to reach. When it seemed like the small raven-haired boy was getting fed up, Max smiled and walked over to him, placing his hands on his waist and lifting him up.

Ray smiled at Max over his shoulder and reached out to place the noodles onto the shelf he could now reach, thanks to Max. Max then put Ray back on the chair and Ray turned to look at him.

"Thank you Max!" He said happily. Max smiled again.

"No problem buddy." He said for the second time that day.

Ray looked around and his eyes fell on the boiling pot of spaghetti on the stove. He moved over on his chair and leaned in to look into the pot but Max grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Oh, no Ray! Don't do that, you can't touch the steam!"

Ray leaned back in Max's arms and looked at him in confusion.

"Why not?" He asked curiously.

"Because it's hot." Max said seriously. "Like hot water. It'll burn you and that really hurts. Don't do that again OK?"

Ray blinked at Max, then looked at the steaming pot before looking back at the blonde again and smiling.

"OK Max."

Max smiled, then moved over to the pot and dipped the big wooden spoon in to stir it. After a while of this, he lifted a noodle out of the pot and tasted it.

"Perfect." He said in satisfaction.

"All done?" Ray asked anxiously. Max nodded.

"All done." He confirmed. "Let get all this ready and go see how good a job Tyson and Kai did."

* * *

"How come you got spoons for spaghetti?"

Tyson smiled at Kai as he placed the plates on the table.

"They're not for the spaghetti." He informed the small blunette. "They're for mine and Max's tea -- and for yours and Ray's kool aid. The forks are for the spaghetti."

"Oh." Kai said simply, placing the forks, spoons and butter knives in the places Tyson had shown him.

"How come you and Max got two cups?"

"Because one is for a cold drink, like water or juice or milk, and one is for the tea." Tyson explained again.

"Oh." Kai said again. After a few moments, when he'd placed the last fork on the table, Kai looked up at Tyson again.

"How come you and Max got big chairs and me and Ray got those ones?"

Tyson smiled in amusement. He couldn't believe that this talkative kid was the 'two-words-a-week' Kai he'd known for years.

"How come you ask so many questions?" He said playfully. Kai looked down and Tyson walked over to him, crouching down so he could look into Kai's face. He placed a finger under the boy's chin and gently lifted it to look at him.

"It's OK to ask questions Kai." He said softly. "That's how you learn. I'm only kidding, you can ask me all the questions you want."

Tyson smiled and ruffled Kai's hair.

"And to answer your last one, you and Ray have different chairs then Max and me because you're shorter then us!"

Kai looked at Tyson for a moment, then smiled, which eventually spread into a grin and finally a laugh.

"Not much!" He argued playfully.

Tyson grinned and stood up.

"Oh yea? Looks like you're pretty short to me."

Kai grinned cheekily and pulled out one of the table chairs, then clambered up onto it and placed his hands on his hips triumphantly.

"Nuh-uh!" He said cheekily. "Now look!"

Tyson laughed and reached out to grab Kai, causing the small blunette to giggle, then took him from the chair and swung him around before placing him back on the ground again.

"What? Look at what? You're still short?"

Kai giggled again and looked up at Tyson.

"Silly Tyson." He said with a grin. Tyson couldn't help but mimic him.

Kai looked at the table, his eyes barely able to see the top of it, and noticed something black close to the edge.

"What's that?"

Tyson's grin faded as Kai reached for the item. Tyson reached out to snatch Kai's hand away.

"No! That's sharp Kai, you can't touch that!"

Kai frowned at him.

"I'm sorry.." He said softly. Tyson immediately felt guilty and knelt down to Kai's level again.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just... you scared me, that's all."

Tyson reached up and took the knife Kai had been reaching for from the table. He held it up and showed the boy, a serious look on his face.

"This is like a butter knife but a lot sharper. It's dangerous and could hurt you. Don't ever touch one OK?"

Kai stared at the knife, then looked at Tyson.

"OK." He said finally.

Tyson frowned, noting the uncertain look on Kai's face. He then looked at the knife in his hands and sighed before placing it back on the table.

"Shouldn't have brought it out yet..." He mumbled to himself. Kai starred at him.

"Tyson?"

"Yea?" Tyson mumbled, looking back to the boy. Kai starred at him for a long while, as if studying him, before finally speaking.

"I no touch, right?"

Tyson forced a small smile.

"That's right buddy."

Kai nodded importantly.

"OK." He said firmly, giving the older blunette a wide smile. "Trust you Tyson. 'Member?"

Tyson finally grinned wide and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair again, making him giggle.

"Good boy." Tyson said proudly. "You'll always be able to trust me. Don't forget that."

"Won't forget." Kai said with a smile. Tyson returned it and stood up, just as Max and Ray entered the room.

Max was walking behind Ray and grinning as he watched the raven-haired boy in front of him. Ray was concentration very hard to keep the rather large plate of garlic bread balanced, his tongue stuck out to the side as he walked. Max placed the things he was carrying on the table and looked down at Ray, ready to help him if need be. When Ray finally reached the table, he struggled with the plate for a bit, unable to get it on the table. Max moved to help him but Ray shook his head.

"I do it!" He insisted.

Max smiled, loving the way Ray always insisted on learning things and doing things for himself. Still, this quality sometimes presented a problem as the boy usually seemed reluctant to ask for help as well. Noting that fact and the fact that Ray was still struggling, Max subtly placed a hand on the table and a finger on the edge of the plate, gently pulling it towards him onto the table.

Thinking he'd gotten the plate onto the table all by himself, Ray grinned proudly as he pushed the food as far onto it as he could. Max smiled.

"Good job Ray." Max praised.

Kai, whom had noticed Max's move, opened his mouth to comment but stopped when he caught sight of Tyson. Tyson smiled at him and placed a finger to his lips, giving the boy a playful wink. Kai ginned and placed his finger to his lips as well to show he'd understood. Tyson winked at Max and the blonde bit his cheek to hold back a laugh.

"OK, who's hungry?" Max asked.

Two small hands shot up in the air and both teens grinned.

"Meee!!" Ray and Kai chimed together.

"That makes three of us." Tyson said with a grin. "Let's eat."

Max and Tyson got the children into their high chairs and got them set up, then proceeded to eat their own food, smiling at each other as they silently shared a secret their charges were too young to understand.

* * *

  
**A/N:** Lol! Can you picture Kai giggling!! XD I'll bet he was an adorable kid!! 3


	3. Chapter 3: Close Yet Far

**A/N: **Alrighty then! I know I haven't touched this story in ages, but in all fairness, no one reviewed either. Having said that, I'm already working on the next chapters and hopefully this story will be done within the next few days. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**Again, I do not own Beyblade or any of the characters.

* * *

"How's the ice cream guys?"

Two faces beamed up and Max as they all returned back to Tyson's house.

"Good!"

"Yummy!"

Max and Tyson exchanged looks and laughed.

"That's good to know." Tyson said playfully as they all sat on the front step to finish. Once they were done, Ray leaned over and wrapped his arms around Max.

"Thank you Max!" He said happily. He then stood up and scampered over to hug Tyson. "Thank you Tyson!"

Both teens laughed and hugged the boy back.

"You're welcome." They said simultaneously.

Kai simply blinked up at the two.

"Thank you." He said with a low bow. The teens smiled at him, trying their best not to laugh at his antics.

"You're welcome buddy." Tyson replied as calmly as he could muster.

"No problem." Max added.

After this, the children decided they wanted to play. Everyone stood up and Max told them to go get their toys, they could play outside if they wanted. Bolting inside, both boys returned with an armload of toys each and ran past the teens before they even had a chance to enter the house.

The teens laughed and shook their heads, once more amused by the childish antics.

"I'll go make some dinner." Max said with a smile. Tyson nodded.

"Guess I'll go try and put together that new mini bey dish then. You can see them from the kitchen, right?"

Max nodded and both entered the house and went off to do their respective tasks.

* * *

Max smiled as he watched his small charges from the window and couldn't help but feel a little saddened. Ray was so jubilant as a kid and Kai, for the most part, was so much more carefree; if only the grown-up Ray and Kai were like this.

Sigh.

But, alas, they're not, and Max knew he had to remember this. When the two boys grew up, they'd be the same serious, calm and collected teens they'd always been.

Max's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Tyson calling his name from the living room.

"Hey, Max! Mind giving me a hand for a minute?"

Max looked out over the garden at Ray and Kai and nibbled his cheek uncertainly.

"They should be fine for a minute right? . . I won't be long."

Deciding he'd be quick, and that Ray and Kai were smart enough to stay out of trouble for such a short length of time, Max called a response over his shoulder before turning to join Tyson in the living room.

"What's up Ty?"

Tyson was grunting and groaning as he heaved and pulled at the beydish, which was evidently a little bigger then either of them had thought.

"Can you. . . . help me. . . . . get this stupid. . . Urg. . . dish to the center of the room?"

Max laughed and shook his head before going over to grab one side of the dish and help his bluenette friend.

"Why didn't you just put it together over there in the first place?"

Tyson grinned sheepishly as they placed the dish down.

"Guess I didn't realize it was so big."

Max stood back and rubbed the back of his head as he observed the beydish.

"Yea. . . neither did I. Wow, wish they had dishes like this when we were kids. This thing is great."

Tyson laughed and stood back with his hands on his hips, observing his handy work proudly.

"Well, there you have it! The best beydish any kid could ever hope for. . . and they better like it cause it cost half a years allowance. . ."

Max laughed and gave the dish one last look before patting his best friend on the shoulder and turning to leave.

"Good job, Ty, it looks good. We'll test it out with Ray and Kai later."

Tyson nodded and sat back on the couch, apparently with the intention of a snooze, while Max walked back to the kitchen to finish dinner.

Max hummed softly as he reached the kitchen, reaching out to stir a pot on the stove before looking up and through the window again. He furrowed his brows, not seeing the boys right away and his big blue eyes scanned the area before him. His hand slowed in it's motion as he looked around until finally it stopped as he realized he could no longer see the boys anywhere. With a frown he turned his head over his shoulder, eyes not leaving the window, and called to his blunette friend.

"Hey, Ty?"

A mumbled reply came from the living room and Max spoke again.

"I can't see the boys anymore. . . . come here and see if you can spot them."

A groan, followed by some shuffling came from the living room until finally Tyson appeared beside the blonde, looking a little tired as he stretched and blinked out the window.

Big brown eyes scanned the area before him, just as Max's big blue ones had, sobering up with each passing moment he didn't see what he was looking for, until finally he was wide awake and blinking out at the garden.

After some time, Tyson leaned back from the window.

"I'm sure they're out there somewhere. . ." He said reassuringly, though there was a frown on his face.

"Yea. . ." Max said softly. "I'm sure you're right. . . but I still wanna go check . . . just in case."

Tyson nodded in agreement and Max turned off the stove before both teens turned and headed for the front door.

* * *

"Ray! Kai! Where are you?!"

Both teens scanned the area once more, called a few more times and waited before stopping and starring, their worry beginning to mount with each passing moment the boys didn't come to them.

Tyson frowned, his arms crossed across his chest in a very grown-up-Kai sort of way.

"I don't like this." He said in an uncharacteristic act of seriousness.

"Me either." Max replied, a sickening feeling beginning to build in the pit of his stomach.

"I'll go check inside." Tyson said with a frown. Max nodded.

"I'll do a good search out here."

Both teens went separate ways and scoured the entire area, house and yard, thoroughly before meeting up on the front step again.

"Something's wrong." Max said bluntly, his panic beginning to mount.

"Don't jump to any conclusions." Tyson said firmly, though he himself felt as if he were going to be sick.

Max sighed and ran a hand through his hair, absently looking around as he tried to think rationally.

"OK. . . they know they're not supposed to go outside the walls because we told them that yesterday and they seem to listen to us when we tell them something. Where else-"

The end of Max's sentience was replaced with a loud gasp as he reached out and grabbed Tyson's arm in a death grip.

"Tyson!" He cried in horror. "Look there!"

Tyson's eyes roved over the garden to a small rock by the koi pond, which, to their horror, was covered in a deep red liquid.

"Oh my God!" Max cried, tears springing to his eyes as Tyson's face drained of all color.

As one, the two turned for the front door and bolted inside, both making a beeline for the living room and nearly tripping over the new beydish in their haste to grab the phone. Tyson got there first.

"Quick! Call the police!" Max said in nothing short of an extreme panic.

Tyson immediately began punching numbers on the phone and it had made two or three rings when a small bang from outside caught the teen's attention. Exchanging a quick look, Tyson threw the phone back down on the receiver before he turned with Max and once more bolted back out the door.

Max and Tyson skidded to a stop and blinked in disbelief at the sight that greeted their eyes.

Ray and Kai were playing in the back yard, both covered in paint. Ray was painting on an easel while Kai, who had a paintbrush tucked behind his ear, was playing with a jack in the box, grinning wide with excitement each time it popped out of the box with a strangely loud bang.

A pair of big blue sapphires and wide brown orbs blinked in astonishment at their small charges until finally the two boys noticed them and looked up with huge grins.

"Wanna play?" Kai asked happily. Ray picked up his painting and turned to show them.

"Look, see! It's us! All four of us! There's Me, and Max, and Kai, and T-"

Both boys suddenly stopped and frowned in confusion as tears began streaming down the teenager's faces.

"Wha-"

But before either of the boys could say anything, they'd been enveloped in tight hugs as their older friends clung onto them and cried. Ray dropped his painting to the ground in shock and Kai tensed visibly, both standing motionless in the older boy's arms.

"Why you crying Max?" Ray asked in confusion, pulling away slightly and reaching up to wipe away the blonde's tears.

"You crying too, Tyson." Kai added, leaning back in the blunettes arms to frown at him.

Max sniffled and gave the raven-haired boy a watery smile.

"We were scared Ray. We thought. . . we found your paint on the rock and. . ."

Ray blinked at the blonde in utter confusion.

"Kai wanted to make the rock look pretty for the fishies. . . you scared of paint Max?"

Max laughed and shook his head, his eyes still glossy as he looked down at the boy.

"No, I'm not scared of paint. I was scared because we couldn't find you, we thought you were lost or hurt."

Tyson nodded and spoke up.

"That's right. . . you guys have to tell us when you go somewhere, OK?"

"Why?" Kai asked in confusion.

"So we know where you are and don't worry." Tyson replied.

Kai and Ray blinked at the older boys.

"So. . . . Max and Tyson. . . . crying cause of Ray and Kai?" Ray asked with a frown.

Max and Tyson nodded and Ray and Kai exchanged looks before looking back at the teens.

"We sorry!" Ray cried, hugging Max tightly. Kai gave Tyson an apologetic look and the blunette reached out and hugged him again too, causing the smaller blunette to hug him back this time.

"Sorry Tyson. . ." Kai whispered guiltily.

"It's OK guys." Max said, taking a deep, calming breath as his tension finally slipped away. "Just remember what we said next time OK? We don't ever want anything to happen to you guys."

"Yea." Tyson added, pulling away a little to ruffle Kai's hair affectionately. "We care about you little pip-squeaks too much. . . It'd break our poor little hearts."

Ray and Kai blinked at Max and Tyson again, their eyes a little wide now.

"Really?"

Tyson forced himself not to laugh and nodded seriously.

"Really."

Now both boys' eyes flooded with tears too and they both hugged the person in front of them tightly, receiving tight squeezes in return as Max and Tyson closed their eyes happily.

"We tell you next time. ." Ray whispered softly. "Care about you too."

Kai nodded against Tyson's shoulder.

"Promise. . . won't make Tyson cry again."

Max opened his eyes and looked over Ray's shoulder to smile at Tyson, finding that the bluenette was doing the same. Suddenly, both sets of eyes widened in shock.

"Tyson. . ." Max said cautiously. Tyson nodded.

"I see it. ." He replied.

Both teens pulled away from the boys and stood up, starring at them in awe as a bright white light consumed them while they blinked at the older boys in confusion.

"What?" Ray asked, rubbing his arm unconsciously. Kai furrowed his brows and starred.

"Are we in trouble?" He asked a little sadly.

Soon the light disappeared and Max and Tyson shook their heads and smiled.

"No, you're not in trouble." Max answered kindly, reaching out a hand. Tyson followed suit.

"We were just admiring how adorable you two are."

Ray grinned and Kai blushed a little before both took the hands offered to them.

"Now, lets get you two cleaned up and fed." Max said with a smile.

The small boys cheered and Max looked up at Tyson with a grin.

"Guess we've got our answer." The blonde said in a soft tone as the boys below them chattered obliviously. Tyson nodded.

"Yep." He replied with a grin. "All they need is a little affection."


	4. Chapter 4: I'll Be The One

**A/N:**Getting shorter and shorter *sweatdrop* sorry guys. I know these ch's are uber short and it's not really like me. . . . I really do apologise for that. Hopefully you like them all the same though. Again, please let me know what you think :)

**Disclaimer:**I still do not own Beyblade.

* * *

Tyson and Max chatted among themselves, glancing up every now and then at the two children before them, who both looked to be about six or seven now. They were sitting on Tyson's back step and tweaking their beyblades as Kai and Ray played.

"Wow! Look at the huge mountain!" Kai exclaimed, starring at a large boulder before him. Ray, joining in on the game, starred up at the huge rock with wide eyes too. Behind them, Tyson and Max stiffled laughs at their antics.

"I bet we could climb it! We'd be the first ever to reach the top of Mount Granger!"

At this, Tyson and Max snorted with laughter. Either ignoring them or not hearing them, Kai continued without skipping a beat.

"They'd all chant and cheer our names!"

Kai cupped his hands over his mouth as he pretended to be hundreds and thousands of people.

"Kai, Kai, Kai! Ray, Ray, Ray!"

Ray giggled at this but quickly sobered up and nodded seriously.

"The first ever!" He repeated. "We can do it though, there's nothing we can't do, we're Ray Kon and Kai Hiwatari!"

With huge grins, both children began to scramble up opposite sides of the bolder, Max and Tyson pausing in their task to watch them with grins. When they'd finally reached the top, Kai's hands came to rest on his hips triumphantly while one of Ray's rested on his hip and the other lifted into the air in a sort of superhero pose.

"Dah, da, da!" Kai shouted triumphantly. "And so the heros reach the top of the mountain while the little people below all looked up at them in amazement!"

This made Tyson and Max burst into laughter.

Kai and Ray looked down at Max and Tyson then and both placed a hand over their eyes as if shielding them to be able to see. Appearing to only have noticed the 'little people" now, they smirked importantly and waved, as if waving to fans. A moment later, Ray cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Hellooo down there!" He shouted, causing Max and Tyson to bite their lips in an attempt to control themselves.

"Helloooo up there!" Max shouted back, cupping his hands like Ray had. "Our heroes! We could never imagine climbing that high! You're both oh-so-brave!"

Both boys grinned cheekily.

"Don't worry!" Kai shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth as well. "One day, you'll be as brave and strong as us!"

At this point, Max and Tyson were in kinks trying to control their laughter.

Grinning wide at the older boys, proud of their ability to amuse them, the smaller boys shifted on the rocks.

"You know, there's room up here for you boys!" Ray shouted. "If you think you're brave enough!"

"I don't know if they could handle it." Kai replied with a smirk.

"Hey!" Max replied seriously, trying not to laugh again. "We are too brave enough!"

Kai looked at him and pouted.

"You can't hear that! We're way up on a mountain!"

Tyson fell back onto the step and clutched his stomach, unable to contain his laughter. Max grinned wide.

"I'll have you know, I have super-sensitive hearing! So I can hear you talking, even all the way up there!"

Kai considered this for a moment, then grinned.

"OK, you can be super Max! The super-eared blonde beybladeing master!"

Max laughed and stood up, placing his hands on his hips triumphantly like Kai had earlier.

"OK! I like the sound of that! Super Max!"

"The super-eared, blonde beyblading master." Ray added as a matter of factly. Tyson snorted and Max grinned.

"Right. The super-eared beybladning master."

Ray laughed out loud at this and clutched his stomach in laughter. He shifted on the rock as he laughed but as he did, he slipped.

The smile dropped from Max's face and Tyson instantly sobered up as they starred, frozen in place, watching the inevitable happen as if in slow motion.

Ray slipped off the rock and Kai reached out to grab his hand. With the force of movement and the extra weight, it was too much for Kai to handle and was pulled down with the golden-eyed boy. Ray let go of Kai's hand and turned in the air to catch himself while Kai simply fell. Ray fell to the ground, his hands outstretched in front of him as he landed on them while Kai fell to his knees.

Max and Tyson swallowed hard and starred at the two small forms before them, waiting for the eruption.

Ray sat back on his backside and starred at his hands. Seeing the shredded, bloodied mess and instantly feeling the painful sting, his eyes immediately flooded with tears and he began to cry.

His heart skipping a beat, Max rushed off the step and hurried over to the small boy, scooping him into his arms and lifting him up. Ray's hands wrapped around Max's neck as he sobbed into Max's shoulder while the blonde softly rubbed his back and cooed to him.

"Come on, buddy." He said softly. "Let's get you fixed up."

With that said, he turned and carried the sobbing little boy in his arms into Tyson's house.

Kai's reaction on the other hand wasn't quite as immediate. His eyes flooded with tears as well as he too saw and felt the blood and pain in his now skinned out knees, but he didn't cry.

Tyson cautiously approached the small blunette and knelt down before him.

"You OK buddy?" He asked softly. Kai bit his lip and nodded.

"Hurts though, right?"

Again Kai nodded. Tyson reached out to pick him up but Kai pulled away from him.

"I can walk." He said softly. Tyson nodded and stood up, reaching down then to take his hand.

"You wanna go get fixed up too?"

Kai sniffled and nodded, then stood up and took Tyson's extended hand. Tyson watched Kai as they walked and after a few steps, he noticed Kai cringing and stopped.

"You sure you don't want a ride?" He asked gently. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help Kai."

Kai again bit his lip but this time didn't say or do anything, so Tyson moved in front of him and crouched down.

"Come on, climb on."

Kai hesitated for a moment but soon wrapped his arms around Tyson's neck and pulled himself onto his back, snuggling into Tyson a little as they entered into the house.

* * *

Max smiled in sympathy as Ray flinched every time the alcohol dabbed at his skin. But, though the blonde wasn't totally surprised, the golden eyed boy didn't make a sound. When he was done, Max bandaged up the broken and red skin and placed a kiss to each of the tender, injured palms, making Ray smile wide.

"What's that for?" He asked with a grin. Max laughed and held the hands in his own.

"To help them get better quicker!" He said with a smile.

"Oh." Ray replied.

He then grinned and reached up to tap his cheek with his finger. Max laughed and leaned in to press a tender kiss to the cheek.

"How's that?" Max asked with a smile. Ray's grin widened until it threatened to crack his face.

"Better!" He replied happily.

Max laughed and shook his head. Ray then held out his arms and Max lifted an eyebrow at him, making the smaller boy grin sheepishly. With another laugh, Max reached out and wrapped his arms around Ray, making the small boy grin wide again as the blonde hoisted him from the bathroom counter, Ray hugging into him as he carried him out of the bathroom on his hip.

Max smiled at Tyson and Kai as he passed them and the older blunette returned it while Kai simply starred.

Now entering the bathroom themselves, Tyson turned around, deposited Kai onto the counter and turned to face him again.

"Now, let's see what we've got here."

Tyson reached down and carefully peeled back the legs of Kai's pants, making the small blunette flinch ever so slightly. Taking a good look at the knees, Tyson smiled.

"Aw, it's not that bad." He said gently. "You'll be good as new in no time."

Kai blinked up at Tyson and after a moment, gave him a small smile.

Tyson immediately went to work and he wasn't at all surprised when Kai neither flinched again, or made a peep. When finally he was finished, he bandaged up the injured knees and disposed of the garbage. He then looked up into the bright crimson orbs and smiled.

"There, ya see. Just like I said, good as new."

Kai smiled at Tyson but it quickly fell away to a shocked expression as the older blunette leaned ahead and pressed a delicate kiss to his cheek.

"Why did you do that?" Kai asked, utterly stunned as his cheeks took on a slight pinkish tinge. Tyson laughed.

"To make you feel better. Did it work?"

Kai was quiet for a moment as he considered it. After a while he nodded.

"Yea." He said simply. Tyson smiled.

"Good." He replied, reaching out to help Kai down. He paused however as he observed Kai curiously.

Kai was experimentally flexing and un-flexing the knee on the side of the cheek Tyson had kissed, lifting it up and down in the air. Finally, after some time, he looked up at Tyson with serious eyes.

"This side is all better, but the other one still hurts. . . maybe you should try the other side too? Ya know. . . just to be sure. . "

Tyson had to resist another laugh and instead nodded seriously.

"Yea, maybe you're right. We should try that."

Tyson leaned in and pressed another tender kiss to Kai's other cheek, making the small boy flush brightly now.

"How's that? Better?"

Kai nodded.

"Yea, it's all better now."

Tyson smiled and reached out to take Kai's waist, lifting him up and gently placing him on the ground.

"There you go, buddy. Now, let's get you into your pj's and we'll go watch a movie. Sound good?"

Kai smiled slightly and nodded up at Tyson, taking Tyson's extended hand and allowing himself to be lead from the room.

* * *

Max and Tyson looked up from the TV as Ray and Kai entered the room, dressed and ready for bed.

"Good job guys." Max appraised. "Now, let's get you to bed."

The boys pouted as the teens stood up from the couch they were sitting on.

"But. . . but can't we stay up with you?" Ray pleaded with big dewy eyes. "Just for a little while?"

"But you already watched a movie." Max replied, trying desprately to ignore the adorabnle expressions -- which immediately intensified.

Max looked over at Tyson for support, knowing he'd crack under the stare, but Tyson didn't seem to be having much more luck as Kai was starring up at him with a similar, uncharacteristic expression.

"Ye gads!" Tyson exclaimed as he plopped back down onto the couch. "That look should be illegal!"

Max sighed, knowing they'd been beaten and plopped back onto the couch as well.

"Alright," He sighed in defeat, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "you can stay up a little longer. Just this once though!"

Ray cheered and a small smile tugged at Kai's lips as they both ran over to the couch and clambered up onto it, snuggling themselves between the two teens and getting settled in.

Soon enough however, having been lost in the tv show they were watching, Max and Tyson looked down upon hearing a pair of soft snores. They both grinned down at their small charges as Ray had cuddled up to Max and Kai had snuggled into Tyson, both sleeping peacefully now with content expressions on their faces.

Giggling softly, Max scooped Ray into his arms and Tyson followed suit.

"Guess a whole day running around out in the fresh air got them all tuckered out." Max whispered with a smile. Tyson grinned.

"Yea. . . I sure am gonna miss this."


	5. Chapter 5: Heartache Every Moment

**A/N:** Here's the next one guys, again, so sorry they're so short, and I'm sorry they're a little. . . rushed as well. Hope you like this one, there's only two more left. Hopefully I'll get them out later tonight or tomorrow. *crosses fingers* Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not, unfortunate as it is, own Beyblade or any of the oh-so-fine-characters whithin.

* * *

"I'm hungry. . ."

Kai, now looking to be about seven or eight -- just like Ray -- looked up at his friend whom was sitting off to the side of the room coloring. Seeing the big golden eyes looking back at him, the older boy sighed and stood up, abandoning his block castle as he headed for the door.

"I'll go ask Tyson and Max if we can have a snack."

The small blunette made his way down the hall and followed the familiar voices to the living room. He stepped inside and opened his mouth but quickly stopped when he heard his name mentioned. Furrowing his brows, the small blunette ducked behind a couch and crouched down as he listened to the conversation going on further into the room.

"It's just so frustrating!" Tyson said with a big sigh. "I mean, I try so hard! It's just like before all this happened, me giving more effort then I get! You'd think with him like this he'd be more. . I dunno, playful? More . . . easy-going? Something!"

Max, whom, like Tyson, was back-on to Kai and totally oblivious to his prescence, reached out and placed a hand on Tyson's shoulder.

"He's still just a kid, Ty. Kai might not be as. . . affectionate as other kids, but you know he cares about you."

Tyson snorted.

"I duno. . . I think if he was old enough to feed and clothe himself, I'd be as good as history."

Kai stood up, ready to protest this, but Tyson spoke again and he immediately crouched back down to listen.

"It's too bad he's not more like Ray." He said with another sigh. Kai felt a little stung at this but continued to listen.

"That kid is just so infuriating sometimes! I'll bet he's the instigator in everything over the last two weeks! Sometimes I just wish we didn't have to do this. . . I wish they'd hurry up and grow up so things could just go back to normal without us having to baby them like this. . "

Tears flooded Kai's eyes and he'd finally heard enough.

_"Tyson doesn't care about me at all!"_ He thought in despair. _"Well . . . if he doesn't want to take care of me, then I'll just run away until I grow up and he doesn't have to any more!"_

Without a word or sound, Kai jumped up from his spy spot and bolted from the room, forgetting about his original purpose for going to go see Max and Tyson, forgetting about all the things Max and Tyson had told him and warned him about, he just ran.

Back inside the living room, Max gave Tyson a warm smile.

"Yea, but you have to admit, it is kinda fun."

Tyson chuckled and nodded.

"Yea, I guess."

Max placed a hand on his arm.

"And you know that when they grow up again. . . we won't be _able_ to baby them and be this affectionate."

Tyson frowned sadly.

"Yea. . . that's true. . guess I might as well enjoy it while it lasts."

He then grinned.

"I guess the kid isn't quite that bad. At least he's a lot more fun then grown-up Kai."

Max laughed and at that moment, a loud crash sounded over their heads. Looking out the window, both teens shivered at the blackened sky as the clouds broke open with a cold autumn rain.

"Brrr." Max shivered. "I'd hate to be out in that now!"

Tyson nodded in agreement and looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Well, I think it's about time we get the pip-squeaks something to eat."

The teens stood up and left the room, making their way to the boy's room as they laughed and guessed playfully at what the small boys might ask for to eat.

Finally reaching Ray's room, where the boys were last seen playing, both teens looked around before looking back at the raven-haired teen.

"Where's Kai?" Max asked curiously.

Ray looked at them and looked around their feet as if expecting Kai to pop out from behind then. When, after a few moments, he didn't, the small boy looked up at them in confusion.

"He went to ask you if we could have a snack." Ray replied in confusion.

Max and Tyson exchanged a look before turning as one and cupping their hands over their mouths.

"Kai!"

When no reply came, the two teens exchanged another look before heading out if the room in search of the boy.

Ray blinked after the two teens for a moment before quickly scrambling up off the floor and running after them.

"Kai!" Tyson shouted loudly. "Kai, come out! Where are you?!"

Max entered the front hall where Tyson was standing with his hands on his hips, slowly working himself into a foul mood the longer the small boy remained hidden.

"You see?" Tyson asked a little angrily. "This is exactly what I mean! Why can't that little brat-"

Tyson paused in his sentence as he suddenly felt a rush of old air.

Apparently feeling it too, Max and Ray turned in the direction Tyson had and both the older boy's faces paled slightly upon spotting the open door, rattling and shaking in the wind.

"Oh no. . ." Tyson whispered. Max swallowed hard.

"Tyson. . . you think he heard-"

Tyson starred at the open door for another moment only before he quickly scrambled for the closet, grabbed his jacket, and a huge, thick blanket before shoving on his shoes and bolting out the door.

"You two stay here and be ready for us when we get back." He shouted over his shoulder as he ran.

Max and Ray blinked at him for a moment, then looked at each other and hurried to do as Tyson said.

* * *

Tyson ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his eyes darting and head swiveling everywhere as he flew down the deserted streets of town, barely able to see with the pounding of the rain. His stomach churned as he thought of poor Kai; who, considering Tyson was shivering, felt the small boy must be freezing to death in the horrid weather.

_"Damnit, Kai! I didn't mean what I said! Where are you?!"_

After what felt like forever, Tyson stopped at a bridge on the edge of town. He leaned over onto the bridge and rested his hands against the walls as he panted heavily.

"I've searched everywhere. . . " He said to himself. "Where else can he be?"

As if someone had heard his plea and wanted to help him, Tyson's attention was mysteriously pulled downwards and somehow, through the pounding wind and the rain, he saw a pale, ghostly reflection in the turbulent water.

His heart jumping up into his throat, Tyson ran across the bridge and turned at the end, slipping and sliding down the bank until he reached the bottom.

Sitting there, huddled into a tight ball, soaking wet, covered in mud and shivering violently, was little Kai, his usually beautiful crimson eyes now bloodshot and puffy.

"Kai. . ." Tyson said softly, knowing the small boy wouldn't hear him. Somehow however, Kai looked up at Tyson and his expression hardened. He made to run away, but Tyson bounded after him and grabbed him.

"NO!" Kai shouted angrily, salty tears streaming down his eyes as he struggled to get away. "Let me go, Tyson! Let me go!"

Tyson's heart lurched as he pulled Kai tight to his chest and wrapped the thick blanket around the small boy, still dry from being kept safe under Tyson's coat.

"Hey, calm down buddy! It's, OK!"

"No it's not!" Kai cried, his tears still streaming down his face. "I heard you! I heard you talking! You don't care about me! I ran away to make you happy, to give you want you wanted! I'll grow up all on my own, I don't need you Tyson!!"

Tyson's heart shattered at this but his grip only tightened around the boy struggling in his arms.

"I didn't mean it!" Tyson shouted over the storm and Kai's struggling.

"Kai, stop!"

Immediately Kai stopped squirming and looked up into Tyson's face with a hurt expression, tears still cascading down his face. Tyson wrapped the blanket tight around him and pulled him close.

"I never meant the things I said, but even so, I shouldn't have said them. I'm so sorry Kai. . . you're so wrong, I do care about you, I care about you so much. And. . . there's so much you don't know and understand. . . Please, you have to believe me; I'd never do anything to hurt you, not on purpose. . . you can always trust me, remember?"

At those last words, Kai finally broke down and threw his arms around Tyson.

"I trust you Tyson." He sobbed, nuzzling his face into the crook of the elder blunette's neck. "I'll always trust you! I'm sorry I made you upset again and worried! I swear I'll never do it again!"

Tyson hugged Kai tightly and stood up.

"It's OK buddy." He said softly. "You don't have anything to apologise for. . ."

With that said, the elder blunette walked out from under the bridge, shielding Kai against the harsh storm as he carefully climbed back up the steep slope and carried him home.

* * *

"Max. . . do you think Kai is OK?"

Max looked down at Ray, who was sitting in his lap, encircled in the blondes arms. Reaching a hand up, he gently brushed Ray's hair out of his eyes and gave him a tender smile.

"I'm sure of it." He replied softly. "I'll bet Tyson's already found him and they're on their way back home."

Ray laid his head back on Max's chest and turned to look out the window again. Max continued to stroke the raven locks while they both starred into the blackness.

After quite some time, Ray spoke again, but this time he didn't lift his head.

"Max?"

"Yea?"

"Would you have gone after me if I'd ran away like Kai?"

Max's hand paused in it's action as he starred down at the boy in his arms in shock.

"Of course I would, Ray." He said in a sincere tone, sounding greatly surprised. "I'd never leave you out there all alone."

"Why."

Max paused. Where was this coming from?

"Because I care about you." The blonde whispered, resuming the task of stroking Ray's long locks. Again Ray lifted his head and looked up at the blonde.

"Do you? Do you really?"

Max starred into the golden eyes and for a moment, Ray wasn't a little boy, he was the full-grown white tiger he'd always known and loved, starring up at him pleadingly with the most entrancing eyes Max had ever seen. But, after blinking a few times, the little boy returned, and Max realized he was expecting a response.

"Yes, Ray, I do. . ." He whispered softly. "Very much."

Ray closed his eyes as Max leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead. When the blonde pulled away, he opened his eyes again and blinked up at him.

"I care about you too Max." Ray whispered in reply. He then wrapped his arms around the blonde and replaced his head on his chest as he once more turned to stare out into the night.

Max sighed heavily, feeling his heart being torn in two different directions. One being the feelings for his grown-up, teenage friend, the other dwelling on how unfair it was that he had to give up his affections and feelings once the boy in his arms was that teenager again.

_"Why can't we just have both. . ."_ Max thought with a frown.

Shaking away these thoughts, Max turned back towards the window. It was at that moment that a dark silhouette appeared out of the darkness. Squinting at it, Max watched as it slowly got closer, and when it was a few meters from the house, the big blue sapphires widened as he realized it was Tyson and Kai.

"Come on Ray!" Max said urgently, giving the small boy a little nudge. "Go grab those bankets quickly and bring them to the front door!"

Ray nodded and lept from Max's lap while the blonde himself bolted for the bathroom.

Tyson leaned heavily against the door as he closed it, soaking wet and panting as he slid down it with the shivering little boy in his arms.

Next moment, Ray skidded into the hall, barely visible over a mountain of blankets and dropped them at Tyson's feet.

"Here, Tyson!" He said hurriedly, shifting nervously back and forth on his feet.

"Thank you, Ray." Tyson said huskily, his voice nearly gone now due to his no doubt on-coming sickness. But instead of using any of the blankets for himself, he instead peeled the soaking one off of the shivering and flush-faced Kai to wrap him in warm, dry ones.

"Where's Max?" Tyson asked, picking Kai up again and standing with him, despite his depleted strength.

"Running a hot bath. . ." Ray replied, still nervously shifting and biting his lip as he looked up at Kai in Tyson's arms.

Tyson took a few feeble steps down the hall, forcing his body to hold up, until Max appeared at the end with a deep frown.

"I'll take care of him Tyson, you go get some rest! You look like you're ready to pass out!"

"No, it's OK, I can-"

"You're no good to him like that!" Max interrupted. "Go take care of yourself! I'll get Kai bathed and warmed up and you can continue taking care of him afterward!"

Tyson frowned down at Kai but he knew Max was right. After a slight pause, he held the precious bundle out and allowed Max to accept him.

Max gave Tyson a warm smile before turning and heading to the bathroom.

Looking back and forth at the teens uncertainly, Ray finally decided and took off to follow Max.

Tyson sighed heavily and trudged to his room, his feet dragging with fatigue the entire way. After laboriously drying off and getting dressed into clothes far heavier then normal for that time of year, Tyson slumped over to his bed, intending to lie down and close his eyes while Max took care of his charge.

It only seemed like he'd just closed his eyes when Tyson heard a soft knock at his door, but glancing over at his clock, Tyson realized that it was nearly an hour later.

"Come in. . " He said hoarsely.

The door opened and three heads poked in.

"Are you sleeping?" Max asked softly.

"No." Tyson replied, forcing himself to sit up. "I was just. . . resting my eyes."

Max frowned but let it go. He instead gestured down to the red-nosed little boy at his feet.

"Well, Kai was wondering if it was OK for them to stay up a little later tonight."

Max looked back up at Tyson.

"I thought maybe it was OK, just this once. . . considering . . and maybe we could watch a movie together."

Tyson smiled lightly.

"Just this once." He repeated. "I've heard that before. . . "

The boys at his feet frowned and the blunette chuckled softly.

"Yea, I guess it's OK. _Just this once_."

The boys smiled happily and Max gave Tyson a small one of his own. The blonde then turned and left with Ray then while Kai stayed behind and waited for Tyson.

Tyson smiled at the small blunette and hoisted himself from the bed. He slowly made his way over to his door and held out his hand, smiling at the small hand that clasped it tightly.

"Thank you, Tyson." Kai whispered, barely audible. Tyson wasn't quite sure what he was being thanked for, but he nodded and gave a warm smile all the same.

"You're welcome, buddy. . . . hey, how do you feel about hot chocolate?"

Kai grinned up at the elder blunette, knowing this was a really special treat given the fact that it was supposed to be bedtime.

"Yes, please." Kai replied politely. Tyson smiled and gave the tiny hand a gentle squeeze.

"Alrighty. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Tyson jolted awake as he felt a soft nudge to his ribs. He blinked himself back to consciousness and focused on his blonde best friend once he was finally awake.

"Sorry. . . fell asleep. . " He muttered before releasing a wide yawn. "What is it?"

Max smiled and placed a finger to his lips, then gestured downwards.

Ray was curled up in Max's lap, his face nuzzled into the blonde's chest while his arms hugged him tightly, a happy smile on his face as he snoozed peacefully.

The surprising one however was Kai. The smaller blunette, bundled up with Tyson in a pile of thick, warm blankets, was also sleeping, but his head was in the older blunette's lap while his face was nuzzled into Tyson's stomach, arms wrapped snugly around the older teen while a smile was on his peaceful and line-free face as well.

Tyson blinked down at the little boy clinging tightly to him, then looked up at Max in disbelief. Max bit his cheek to stifle a giggle and tipped his head towards the bedrooms in a suggestive manner. Tyson smiled and, just like they'd done the last time something of this nature had happened, followed Max's lead as they scooped the boys up and made their way to the right bedrooms.

Two sets of eyes locked onto each other as they looked up upon exiting seperate rooms.

"Ya know. . . it's really not fair." Max said with a small sigh. Tyson gave him a questioning look.

"What's not?"

"This. . . all of it." Max replied glumly as they made their way to the kitchen. Tyson eyed the blonde curiously as they entered the room.

Max walked over to the kettle and flicked it on before leaning against the counter and speaking again.

"We're getting so used to all these little affectionate moments, imagining what it would be like to share them with the grown-up Kai and Ray, but deep down, we've gotta realize. . . we're never going to have that with them. . ."

Tyson frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets as he scuffed his foot across the floor.

"Yea. . . I know what you mean. Right now, Kai is just. . a little boy, and I don't see him as anything but. . . but when I go to bed at night, I still think, just like I used to, about him as a teenager. And, I can't help but think how bittersweet all of this is. . ."

Max frowned and reached to retrieve two cups from the cupboard before filling them up, making hot chocolate and handing Tyson one, who mumbled a quiet thanks. Max nodded and spoke again.

"It. . . really is bittersweet. . ." He thought sullenly. "I was thinking earlier. . . I'm loving all these moments with Ray but. . . it's like I have to choose; having Ray this age and enjoying the cute little moments and giving him all the affection I never could before, meanwhile, he's too young right now for it to really mean much. . . or, I have to choose him being grow-up and old enough for it to really mean something. . . but not be able to give it."

Tyson starred at his cup before gently blowing on it and taking a sip, taking in Max's lengthy, yet true rant carefully. After rolling the words over his his mind for quite some time, he finally sighed and closed his eyes.

"Yea. . ." He whispered again. "Why can't we just have both?"

Max frowned and looked up at the ceiling before taking another sip from his mug.

"That's what I said. . ."


	6. Chapter 6: I Guess This Is Growing Up

**A/N:**This one is a little longer anyway. Only one more after this one guys! Woo Hoo! :D I'm gonna try to get it out real soon to get it over with and satisfy you guys lol . . . and before FF screws up again -_-; Hope you guys like this one!

**Disclaimer:**I still do not own BeyBlade of any of the sexi (and Kawii =^_^= ) characters.

* * *

Max sighed from one side of the kitchen table while Tyson groaned in frustration on the other. They had both talked things over, and seeing how quickly the boys were growing now, and also that they now looked anywhere between nine and eleven, the two teens had decided they'd better start re-planning everything they'd cancelled weeks ago.

"I didn't know there was so much to do!" Tyson complained moodily. Max sighed again.

"Neither did I. . . I guess things really mounted up after all this time. . "

Tyson grunted moodily but said nothing else as both continued on with their work.

Soon enough, both teens felt a pair of eyes on them and looked up to the entrance of the kitchen to see two young boys looking at them a little nervously. Max gave them a smile and Tyson grinned, happy to have a distraction from the boring paper work and such.

Upon seeing the nervous and seemingly a little distressed looks on the boy's faces, Max frowned and pushed his work away from him, somehow sensing there was something wrong.

"What is it?" Max asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"Can we. . . . can we talk to you guys for a minute?" Ray asked nervously.

Max and Tyson exchanged a look before turning back to the boys.

"Yea, of course." Tyson answered. "What about?"

Kai took a big breath before finally speaking.

"About something. . . personal."

"Sure." Tyson said again. "Come sit down."

The boys walked over to the table but didn't sit down. Ray leaned against the counter and Kai simply stood rim-rod stiff with his arms crossed, making Tyson frown as he thought about how quickly Kai's old habits were returning to him.

"We were. . . thinking- talking, about something," Ray began very slowly. "and. . . um . . we're a little confused."

Max furrowed his brows in concern.

"OK." The blonde gently prodded. "What were you thinking. . . and talking about?"

Ray bit his lip, and seeing that he wasn't going to say any more, Kai spoke up.

"Is it wrong for a boy to like another boy?" He asked bluntly.

This stunned both Max and Tyson into silence as they blinked at the two.

When it seemed like the poor boys before them would die of anticipation and nervousness, Max finally took a deep breath and gave them a warm smile. From the other side of the table, Tyson laughed lightly.

"Ray, come with me." Max said gently, standing up and walking over to the boy. Looking over his shoulder on the way out and noting Kai standing there uncomfortably, he gave the blunette a smile.

"Kai, sit with Tyson. He'll answer your question for you."

Kai nodded once at the blonde and awkwardly made his way over to the table and sat down nervously beside the older teen.

* * *

Max sat down on the big couch in the living room and patted the spot next to him.

"Come sit." He told Ray softly. After a slight hesitation, the young boy came and sat beside him.

"First of all, I want you to understand that not everyone thinks the same; some people will probably ridicule you and harass you until you're at the point of insanity, telling you that it's wrong to like another boy."

Ray's face paled at this and Max gave a small chuckle and reached out to take his hand, making him flinch slightly. But Max gave it a gentle squeeze.

"But, that's just their opinion; if you're asking for mine, then I say no, it's not. More often the not you'll find there are people who think _that's_ wrong, to think that way. But no matter what your opinion, you can't help what your heart feels Ray; that's something you can't control. If the person you love just so happens to be another boy, then, in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."

Ray starred at Max for a moment, then looked down at their linked hands and starred for a long time. Max gave him his space and patiently waited from him to speak again, and eventually, his patience paid off.

"I'm glad you think that, Max. . ." Ray almost whispered. Max smiled and gave his hand another squeeze.

"You don't ever have to worry about me thinking anything bad about you, Ray. You can always tell me anything and no matter what, you'll always have me to turn to."

Ray sighed heavily and visibly relaxed, his familiar calm and collected manner slowly returning.

"Thank you Max." He said softly, not looking up. Max nodded, not entirely sure if Ray could see it of not.

After another, this time a little shorter, silence, Ray spoke again, his tension this time returning to him.

"I. . . have something else I need to tell you, Max."

Max smiled again and reached out his free hand to place under Ray's chin and lift it.

"Like I said, you can tell me anything Ray. Don't ever be afraid."

Ray starred into Max's eyes for a moment and next moment, the words he spoke flew from his mouth like a break in a damn.

"I think I love you Max!"

Max's eyes widened and he retracted his hand from Ray's face as if burnt.

"What?!" The blonde almost hissed, sure he hadn't heard right.

Instantly Ray's expression turned to one of extreme panic and he reached out to grab Max's other hand to hold them both.

"I know I'm so much younger then you!" He blurted desperately, the sentence tickling the blonde's amusement somewhere deep down. "But I can't help it! I'm so sorry! But like you said, you can't help who you love right?"

Ray's eyes flooded with tears.

"Please! I'm sorry Max, I didn't mean to upset you or make you feel . . . anything negative towards me. I'm sorry I said anything! Just forget I said that!!"

Max blinked at Ray for a few moments still utterly shocked, until one of the pools in Ray's eyes followed through with it's threat and released a single tear. This caused the blonde to snap out of his reverie and finally give the younger -- for now -- boy a small smile.

"You're right." Max said softly, reaching out to wipe the rebel tear away. "You are too young -- for now. But that doesn't mean I think any less of you, Ray. I'm not disgusted or . . . upset, about this, I was just a little. . ."

Max paused to release a small chuckle.

"Surprised." He finished. Max then gently slipped his hands from Ray's and reached up to cup the raven-haired boy's face.

"Tell you what." He almost whispered. "You tell me that exact thing again when you're grown-up, and I'll tell you what I think about it. Deal?"

Ray blinked away his tears and turned his head to the side to press a tender kiss to one of Max's palms. He then reached up and placed his hands over Max's before giving the blonde a happy smile.

"OK." He said finally, a determined look on his face. "I will, and I won't forget."

That said, Ray released Max's hands and pushed forward to wrap his arms around the blonde and lay his head on his chest.

Max sighed and slipped his arms around Ray, pulling him close and resting his head atop the raven-locks. He reached up to stroke the silky locks, like he had done so many times in the last few weeks, and resisted the urge to cry himself as his heart was pulled in too many directions at once.

_"I could only hope, Ray. . ."_ He thought miserably. _"When this is all over. . . you may not have a choice but to forget. . ."_

* * *

"So, let's see, where do we start?"

Kai blinked at Tyson as the older boy tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"How about at the beginning?" Kai attempted playfully, but in his nervousness, the would-be joke merely came out in a shaky whisper. Tyson looked at him and grinned.

"Yea, that's a start isn't it?" He sobered up then and rested his elbows on the table as he looked into Kai's face with a warm expression.

"Well, you're asking me, and I'm not everyone, so I can't speak for everyone. But, speaking for me. . . no, I don't think it's wrong for a boy, or a girl, to like another boy or a girl. . . er, I mean, ya know; for a boy to like another boy or a girl to like another girl . . . "

Tyson scratched behind his head and chuckled.

"Understand?"

Kai blinked at him again.

"I think so. ." He replied softly. "So. . . you don't think there's anything wrong with it?"

Tyson's warm smile returned and he placed his hand back on the table before reaching out and taking one of Kai's in his.

"No, I don't." He replied softly. "You like who you like and you love who you love, that's all there is to it, and no matter what anyone else thinks, that's all you can do. I mean, if people could chose who they loved, they'd pick someone who already loved them so there were no complications or heartache, right?"

Kai knew the question was rhetorical but he nodded anyway. Tyson continued.

"So, in other words, you shouldn't feel bad because of who you like; because, like it or not, you can't help it."

Kai starred at Tyson for another few moments until finally he looked down in his lap, away from Tyson or the hand in his.

"What if. . . what if the person you like is a really good friend of yours?"

For a moment, Ray appeared in Tyson's minds eyes, but he quickly shook the image away with a pained sting. This was no time to be selfish.

"Well, if that's true, then I think you should tell them. If they really are a good friend, then they'll understand, no matter how they feel back."

Kai was silent for a ling time and Tyson felt himself growing antsy in the noiselessness. Still he, painstakingly, kept quiet and waited for Kai to speak again. Finally, after an eternity, Kai did speak again and Tyson felt himself sight with relief.

"You told me I could always trust you. . " Kai whispered. Seeing that it was a statement, not a question, Tyson merely nodded, somehow knowing Kai could sense it. Kai continued.

"Well . . I've got to tell you something, Tyson. . . and I'm really trusting you to. . . to accept it and . . and help me deal with it. . ."

Tyson frowned, Ray's image again looming in his mind. Figuring he already had it all figured out and was prepared for it, Tyson took a deep, silent breath and pulled himself up to his full height in his chair.

"OK." He sad as calmly as he could muster. "Go ahead, Kai."

Kai frowned deeply and Tyson could feel the hand in his beginning to sweat, making the blunette feel very sorry for it's owner.

"Tyson, I- . . . . I think. . . no, I'm sure. . ."

Kai bit the side of his cheek for a moment, but deciding to just out with it, he took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut before once again blurting what he had to say.

"I love you, Tyson!"

Tyson's breath and heart both stopped at once, and the blunette was sure he was going to pass out. Placing his free had firmly on the table to steady himself, he shook his head free of the dizziness and blinked at the smaller blunette, who was now looking up at him again through glossy eyes.

"Kai. . ." Tyson said, making sure to measure his words carefully for the first time in his life. "I. . . I'm sorry but. . . "

Biting his lip as he thought of how to finish this sentence, Tyson starred at Kai guiltily. This lasted for only a moment however, because after blinking once, Kai pulled his hand from Tyson's and pushed his chair back before standing and turning to leave.

"Uh. . . where are you going?" Tyson asked, blinking after the young boy in confusion.

"Elsewhere." Kai said simply. "I can tell that this was a waste of my time.

Tyson blinked once more before jumping up from his own chair and bounding after the other blunette. He took Kai's hand, forcing him to stop, and moved around to the shorter boy's front.

"You didn't give me a chance to finish." Tyson said softly, ignoring the breaking of his heart upon seeing Kai's beautiful eyes glossed over threateningly.

"You don't need to." Kai replied, his voice cracking slightly. "I know what you're going to say."

Tyson gave a cheeky grin.

"You sure about that?"

Kai blinked at Tyson but said nothing so Tyson gave him another warm smiled and reached out to place his hands on Kai's shoulders.

"Kai. . . right now you're. . . you're far too young for. . . well, a real relationship."

Kai frowned at this and opened his mouth but Tyson silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"But if you can remember what you just told me when you're grown-up, then I'll remember to tell you my response to it. Trust me. Deal?"

Kai blinked up at Tyson and took a deep breath. After some time, he finally nodded as a serious, determined look crossed his face.

"I will remember, Tyson." He said softly. "_You_ can trust _me_."

Tyson smiled sadly and wrapped his arms around Kai's back to give him a tight hug. To his surprise, the shorter blunette returned it.

"I'll be waiting." Tyson whispered. And as he said it, a silent tear slipped down his cheek.

* * *

Hours after their talk with their charges, Max and Tyson were sitting once again at the kitchen table together; trying, in vain, to finish their work. After a length of starring at white paper until the black words blurred, both decided they weren't going to finish until they'd eased their minds.

"Tyson, can I talk to you?" Max asked quietly. Tyson looked up and gave him a lopsided smile.

"I was just going to say the same thing." He replied just as quietly. "You go first."

Max sighed and looked down at his hands.

"Ray told me he loved me this afternoon. . " He said, voice barely above a whisper. "I told him to tell me again when he was grown-up. . . "

Tyson blinked at his blonde friend.

"I- . . Kai told me the same thing." Tyson confessed softly. "And I. . . told him exactly what you did. . . "

Max frowned.

"I never knew having someone tell you those words could hurt so much. . ." He said sadly, his eyes glossing over slightly at the thought. "I. . always thought it was supposed to be special and feel really good when someone told you that, but. . . I just felt like crying. . "

"Me too. . " Tyson admitted, his own voice barely above a whisper this time.

There was a long silence between the two as both were fully consumed in their own thoughts. Eventually though, Max spoke again.

"I was thinking about something else too. . ." He said absently.

"What's that?"

"Mom told us they'd forget everything when they. . . went backwards or whatever, right?"

Tyson blinked for a moment, then nodded, not really sure where this was going.

"Yea. . ." He said simply. Max spoke again.

"Well. . . other then how long it took the others and what they did to help them grow up. . . she never really told us much else did she?"

Tyson furrowed his brows and again nodded.

"Well. ." Max said slowly. "Is it really. . . reasonable for us to be hoping that they remember when . . . it's likely they won't?"

Tyson frowned at this, now knowing what the blonde meant. This time however, he said nothing.

"I mean, you never remember things from when you're a kid once you really grow up. . . so, chances are. . . they're not going to remember anything either. . . even if it's not the same and hasn't been so long. . ."

Tyson looked down at his papers without really seeing them as his thoughts once again ran rampart.

Eventually, both teens looked up at each other at the same time and their eyes locked. Silently communicating what they felt, both sets of eyes instantly flooded with tears and they quickly looked away from each other.

"We should hurry up and finish this." Tyson said suddenly, clearing his throat. "Don't know how much time we've got left. . "

Max nodded and sniffed once as he blinked away his tears.

"Yea, you're right. . . "

With nothing more to say, both teens turned back to their work and forced themselves to finish it in favor of distracting their broken hearts and clouded minds.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like hours, both teens leaned back in their chairs and stretched, multiple joints and bones popping with the effort and relief from the stiffness.

"Finally." Tyson groaned. "I thought that would take forever."

"Seems like it did." Max said playfully, though his face held a weary expression too.

The blonde looked up at the wall then and noted the time on the clock. With another stretch, he stood up and looked down at his blunette best friend.

"I think we'd better go get the boys into bed, it's really late."

Tyson nodded and stood up, stretching once more as well and followed the blonde out of the kitchen.

Max and Tyson paused and looked at each other upon reaching the hall. There were no sounds of playing, no sounds of the television or music. No sounds at all.

"Can't be." Tyson said in disbelief. ". . . Can it?"

Max and Tyson split up and carefully opened the two slightly ajar bedroom doors, and sure enough, one in each bed, were their two smaller charges, seemingly snoozing in a deep, peaceful sleep.

-;-

Max smiled as he slowly padded into Ray's room. He reached down to adjust the blankets around the boy, then reached out to gently brush Ray's hair from his forehead before leaning down.

Before he could manage the intended action however, big golden eyes opened to stare up at him through the dim light flooding in from the hall.

Max smiled.

"I thought you were asleep." He said softly, sitting down beside Ray on the bed."

"I was." Ray answered simply and Max's smile widened a little as he shook his head.

"Well, I'm sorry I woke you." He replied. Ray shook his head.

"It's OK, I was hoping you would. I wanted to say goodnight earlier but you seemed so busy and concentrated that I didn't want to disturb you."

Max, feeling greatly touched by this confession, reached out to gently rub the back of his hand along Ray's slightly tanned cheek.

"I'm never too busy for you." He said softly.

Ray smiled and Max leaned down to give him a hug. As Max pulled away, Ray pressed a tender kiss to the pale cheek, surprising the blonde slightly. The younger boy smiled up at the blonde as the big blue sapphires starred down at him.

"Goodnight, Max." Ray whispered. Max smiled again and leaned down to press a kiss to the forehead he hadn't managed to earlier.

"Goodnight, Ray."

With nothing more to say, Max stood up form the bed and walked over to the door. Before closing it however, Ray's voice stopped him.

"Max?"

Max poked his head back into the room.

"Yes?"

"Can you leave it open a little? I um. . . don't like the room when it's too quiet."

Thinking this request a little odd as Ray had never wanted his door open before, Max obliged nonetheless and gave a small nod.

"Of course. Night."

"Night."

-;-

Tyson tip-toed into the room and over to Kai's bed. He looked down into the sleeping face and smiled gently, never growing tired of how peaceful and line-free said face was while he slept.

"_If only he looked like that while awake."_ Tyson thought.

He leaned down then and pressed a feathery kiss to one of the un-painted cheeks, and leaned back, turning to leave until a voice stopped him.

"Aren't you going to say goodnight?"

Tyson turned back to the bed in surprise.

"I thought you were asleep."

"No."

Tyson smiled and padded back to the bed, Kai scooting over a little to encourage the older blunette to sit. When Tyson did so, a whisper of a smile lit Kai's face.

"So. . did you get all your work done?" Kai asked politely. Tyson smiled again and nodded.

"Yea, we did. . .ya know, I'm really proud of you guys for going ahead to bed without us having to tell you."

"We figured you guys were too busy to remember and didn't think you realized what time it was."

Tyson laughed lightly.

"You were right, we didn't."

Kai nodded.

"Thought so."

Tyson smiled and shook his head.

"Well, it's late and you should be asleep as well as in bed."

Kai nodded again and Tyson leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. When he pulled away, Kai spoke again.

"Tyson?"

"Yea?"

"I'm really glad you still came. . . ya know, to tuck me in and whatever."

Tyson smiled.

"Of course, I always do. That's not gonna change just because you went to bed without us."

Kai smiled, a real one this time and Tyson reached up to brush his cheek with his his finger tips. Kai reached up and took a hold of Tyson's hand before he could pull away and pressed a delicate kiss to the soft fingertips, shocking the older blunette greatly.

"Thank you, Tyson." He said softly.

Tyson gave him a warm expression and leaned down give the young boy a light hug, happy to receive one in return.

"You're welcome, buddy." Tyson replied quietly as he pulled away. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Tyson got up from the bed and left the room, pausing on the outside to close the door. Kai's soft voice however made him stop.

"Can you leave it open?"

Tyson looked in at Kai with a slightly confused expression.

"Leave it open?" He repeated, not sure if he'd heard right. Kai nodded.

"Yea. Just a little. I . . . can't sleep when it's too quiet."

Tyson smiled and nodded, still feeling a little confused by this new request.

"Sure thing buddy. Goodnight."

"Night."

* * *

Tyson gently blew on his hot cocoa before taking a sip, just as Max sat down across from him at the kitchen table. Now having their work all finished and put away, they were sitting down together to enjoy a hot cup of their favorite guilty pleasure before going to bed.

"Did Ray ask you to leave the bedroom door open?" Tyson asked the blonde after a while. Max paused in taking a sip of his cocoa and looked up at Tyson in surprise.

"Yea. . . how did you-?"

"Kai asked me the same thing." Tyson interrupted, looking over the rim of his mug at the blonde while he sipped from it.

Max furrowed his brows and mimicked the blunette. When they lowered their mugs again, they starred at each other for a while.

"They've never asked for that before." Max said thoughtfully. Tyson nodded in agreement.

"I thought it was the strangest thing." He admitted.

After pondering this for a while, Max seemed to think of something and tilted his head at his best friend curiously.

"Didn't they complain once, there a few weeks ago when they were still toddlers, that they could hear our voices at night when we talked in the kitchen?"

Realization spread across Tyson's face as he remembered this too.

"Yea, they did." He said thoughtfully. "They complained 'cause it kept 'em up."

The two blinked at each other for a minute before bright smiles lit both faces.

"Ray's not bothered by the room being too quiet." Max said with a laugh.

"And Kai can sleep just fine when it's quiet." Tyson added with a chuckle of his own.

"They just wanted to hear our voices." Max finished with a smile.

The two blinked at each other as warm, touched sensations washed over them, ones that had nothing to do with the hot cocoa travelling to their tummies.

"That's so. . . adorable." Max said after a while.

"And. . . so unexpected." Tyson added.

Two cups lifted to a pair of lips in unison as the owners of the hands holding them attempted to hide their huge, dopey grins.


	7. Chapter 7: Stop, And Say You Love Me

**A/N:***whew!* Here's the last ch at last! I hope you guys like it and I hope you're not disappointed. As usual, please lemme know what you think and, enjoy. :)

**Disclaimer:**I FINALLY own the BB boys!! YEEEAAA!! . . . Oh. . no. . hang on, apparently I don't, looks like I was just dreaming that. . . . .

* * *

Max's eyes blinked open as he felt a presence disturb his peace. Blinking up at the image floating over his head, he starred in shock once his vision was clear enough to see.

"Ray!" He gasped breathlessly. "You're. . . you're all grown up again!"

Ray smiled at him before leaning down until their faces were close enough to feel each other's breaths.

"That's right, Max, I am. And I seem to remember having something to tell you."

Max's eyes widened as Ray leaned down and brushed their lips together.

"I love you Max. . ." He whispered softly. Max felt his eyes flood with tears as his throat contracted with emotion.

"I-I lo-"

-;-

Max's eyes blinked open as he felt a presence disturb his peace. Blinking up at his ceiling he sighed heavily as he realized he'd just been dreaming. With a wide yawn and a stretch he sat up and starred at the wall before him moodily.

"Stupid dreams. . ." He mumbled. "If they're gonna be better then reality then I should be alowed to stay asleep. . ."

"Awe, I'm sure you're reality isn't all that bad, Maxie."

Max's head jerked to the side to see a very grown-up Ray grinning at him playfully. After blinking at the golden-eyed blader for some time, he reached down and pinched himself hard, yelping at the sudden pain in his arm.

"Ow! That felt real. . ." The blonde pouted as he rubbed his sore arm. Beside him, Ray chuckled.

"Probably because it was." He stated in amusement.

Max, finally realizing that he was no longer asleep, realized that Ray really was back to normal and grinned wide.

Ray started in surprise when Max suddenly leapt forward and wrapped his arms around him in a big hug. He laughed and hugged the blonde back, then pulled away from him and gave him a confused expression.

"Thanks, but what was that for?"

Max's grin widened.

"Just because."

Ray raised a brow and laughed again.

"What's gotten into you this morning Max?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.

Max chewed his cheek for a minute, as he starred at Ray. Did Ray really not remember anything? Had he forgotten everything that had happened over the past few weeks?

"Nothing." The blonde replied a little sullenly. Ray gave him a worried look but said nothing. He merely brushed it away and smiled at his friend.

"Alright. . . Anyway, I came to ask you if you wanted some breakfast."

Max sighed and nodded.

"Yea sure."

With a genuine smile from Ray and a forced smile from Max, the blonde got out of bed and followed the golden-eyed blader to the kitchen.

* * *

-Mumble, Mumble-

Tyson rolled over in his sleep, mumbling happily as he dreamed about a certain, now-older-but-only-in-his-dream, blunette. He was suddenly jolted awake however as his unconscious self rolled into something that hadn't been there before.

"Huh? Who? What? Why? What happened?!"

"Other then you nearly rolling yourself into my lap, nothing."

Tyson looked up to see a full-grown Kai starring down him with a familiar, stony expression, though his eyes glinted with an unfamiliar light of amusement.

Tyson blinked up at his Captain in shock, looking the exact same as he did in Tyson's dream just previously.

"You-. . . you-. . . you're- . . ."

Kai lifted an eyebrow at the now younger again blunette and his amusement travelled down to lips, causing them to lift ever so slightly at the corners.

"Morning to you too." He said in amusement. Tyson continued to blink at his companion, thoroughly shocked.

_"I. . . can't believe he's really back. . "_ Tyson thought in disbelief. _"And. . here. . . in my room. . "_

The younger blunette had to fight back a blush at this last thought.

Grown up Kai. . in his room. . . on his bed. . .

Tyson shook his head.

_"Stop it, Tyson! Geeze!" _

This caused the older blader to smirk.

"Something you're not telling me, Tyson?" He teased. Tyson looked at him and finally grinned sheepishly.

"Nope. Not a thing."

Kai raised an eyebrow again but said nothing else on the matter.

"If you say so. Come on, come get some breakfast, you've sleep in late enough already.

Tyson nodded and got out of bed, following wordlessly after Kai like a lovesick puppy.

* * *

Max looked up from his french toast as Tyson and Kai entered the room. There was no smile on his face as usual though, as these seemed impossible to conjure that morning.

"Morning, sleepy head." Ray greeted Tyson with a laugh. "Morning, Kai. There's pleanty of breakfast, help yourselves."

Tyson mumbled a thanks and sat down next to Max, scooping a few pieces of bacon and a single slice of french toast onto his plate and picking at it moodily as he starred at it.

Kai walked past the table and poured himself a cup of coffee, choosing to lean against the counter and talk with Ray as he finished breakfast rather then sit with his two younger teammates -- which suited the latters just fine.

"Guess we were right." Max whispered to Tyson, not bothering to lift his head from his breakfast as he pushed it around his plate. Tyson frowned.

"You mean about them not remembering?" He whispered back. Max nodded. "Yea, guess so. . . it's just like nothing ever happened."

Max and Tyson sighed in unison and pushed their plates away form them, causing the two older teens across the room to stop in their conversation and look at them.

"What's wrong?" Ray asked in concern. "Is it not done enough?"

Both boys shook their heads.

"No, it's fine, Ray. Thank you." Max said softly. Tyson nodded again.

"Yea. Great. . . we're just not that hungry. . "

Kai and Ray gawked at the two.

"Since when are you not hungry, Tyson?" Kai asked in astonishment. Ray blinked at them.

"You always eat breakfast, Max." Ray added.

The younger boys frowned and pushed their chairs away form the table.

"We're just not hungry." Max replied, repeating Tyson's previous sentence.

The older teens blinked at the the younger boys, bewildered, as they watched them shuffle away from the table and out of the room.

-;-

"Wow. . . I can't remember the last time I ever felt so crappy. . ." Max commented as him and Tyson made their way to their rooms.

"Me either. . ." Tyson replied glumly. "I was. . .really hoping-"

Tyson stopped and bit his lip and Max frowned deeply before placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"I know buddy. . . me too. . . . so, you wanna shower first or me?"

Tyson sighed.

"Go ahead. I think I'm gonna lie down and pitty myself for a bit. . ."

* * *

When Max and Tyson were showered and as ready for their day as they felt they'd ever be, they headed back down to the kitchen to find Ray and Kai sitting at the table; both fiddling with their beyblades.

"Yep. . . back to normal." Tyson mumbled under his breath.

Hearing the mumbled words, the older boys looked up from their tasks.

"There you are." Kai said simply, pushing his chair away from the table and standing up. "Come with me for a minute Tyson, I wanna show you something."

Tyson exchanged a weary look with Max before turning and following Kai out of the kitchen. Ray smiled up at Max and the blonde forced himself to return it.

"Mind helping me with supper, Max?" Ray asked. Max raised an eyebrow.

"We're not long done breakfast." He pointed out. "And we haven't had dinner yet."

Ray laughed.

"Yes, but I was planning on having something special for supper tonight, and it's going to take a while."

Max took a deep breath and forced himself not to sigh again.

"Sure."

-;-

"You're. . . oddly quiet today." Kai said as he watched Tyson watching Dranzer.

"Yea. . ." Tyson replied absently, not really paying much attention. Kai raised his hand and Drazer sped towards him and shot up into his open palm.

Kai's fingers closed around his blade as he watched Tyson closely. The younger blunette was still starring at the spot where Dranzer had just been as if in a daze.

"So? What'd ya think?"

"Huh?" Tyson replied, appearing to come out of his daze but still not looking at Kai. "About what?"

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"About my new maneuver."

"Oh." Tyson replied dumbly. "Oh, yea, it was great. Impressive. . . really gonna turn some heads."

"It's the same one I always use on launch."

Tyson finally looked up at Kai and blinked at him.

"Oh." He said again. But this time he didn't elaborate. Kai frowned.

"If you were really paying attention, you'd have known that. . . what's wrong with you today?"

Tyson frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets, choosing to stare down at his feet and scuff his shoe in the dirt rather then to look at Kai.

"Nothing." He said, not entirely convincingly. Kai snorted humorlessly.

"Right." He said bluntly. He then walked over to stand in front of the blunette and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Look at me, Tyson."

When Tyson didn't look up, Kai lifted his chin in the air and looked down his nose at the younger teen.

"Look at me." He said firmly, his voice raising ever so slightly.

At this tone of voice, Tyson finally looked up and starred up into Kai's face. The elder teens expression softened slightly and he lowered his head again.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently, a soft tone Tyson had rarely ever heard before.

"Nothing. ." Tyson mumbled, but the stern expression on Kai's face told him he'd better say more. "I'm just. . . a little bummed, that's all."

"About?"

Tyson bit his lip.

"About. . . a memory."

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Tyson, that doesn't make sense."

At this Tyson's face contorted in anger and he starred up at Kai defiantly.

"It's my business OK! If I wanna be bummed, then I can be bummed! Don't pretend like you care!"

Tyson turned to stomp away but Kai's hand wrapping around his arm stopped him. Kai reached out and placed his other hand on Tyson's free arm and gently turned him around.

"I'm not pretending." He said softly. Tyson blinked up at him as tears came to his eyes. He then lowered his head until his bright, red ball cap and bangs shadowed his face and hid his tears.

"I just. . . don't you remember anything?"

Tyson started a little when he felt a finger appear under his chin and lift his face. He starred up into the bright crimson orbs above him as the tears streamed down his face.

"You mean you being a lot stronger?" Kai teased, making Tyson pull his chin away angrily.

"You told me I could always trust you."

Tyson's eyes widened at the whispered words and his head jerked back to stare at Kai.

"Wh-what?" He stammered, afraid to hope that he'd heard right. Kai gave him a foreign, warm smile and moved closer to him.

"I've got to tell you something, Tyson, and I'm really trusting you to accept it and help me deal with it."

Tyson's heart went up into his throat and his chest contracted as he struggled to breathe. Was this some weird coincidence, some odd way for Kai to try and make him feel better? There was no way those words -- those same words from the night before, were the same ones the crimson-eyed blader was going to utter now. I was just not possible.

Kai reached out now and reached a hand up to cup Tyson's face.

"I remembered. . " He whispered softly, causing Tyson's chest to heave as he fought for his breath.

"Tyson, I think. . . no, I'm sure. . " A small teasing smile tugged at the corner of Kai's lips as he playfully repeated his side of their conversation from the night before. Dipping his head down into the shorter teen's face, his lips brushed Tyson's, sending a jolt of electricity through them before whispering against his lips.

"I love you. . . "

Tyson's eyes widened in shock as a hot flush spread across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. After a moment however, his eyes slid shut feverishly and he kissed Kai back, not quite able to believe what had, and was, happening.

After a very short time, Kai pulled away from Tyson, still cupping his face, and rubbed his thumb along the younger blunette's jawline, making a shiver run through Tyson's body.

"So you knew. ." Tyson whispered. "You knew all along, ever since this morning, when you came and woke me up, all through breakfast, all afternoon, you remembered and you didn't say anything."

Kai gave him a half smile and removed his hands to take Tyson's in his.

"I couldn't." He said simply. "I didn't know how to say it. . . where to begin."

He then smirked playfully.

"And some of it I'd kinda like to forget!"

Tyson blinked at him.

"Like what?"

"Like you having to bath me! And watch over me, and having to ask you if I can have a _snack_!"

Tyson blushed horribly at the first statement but couldn't help laugh at the last.

"I dunno." He said with a grin. "I kinda liked those last two."

Kai starred down at him.

"Even taking care of me?"

Tyson sobered up and smiled at him.

"Especially taking care of you." He replied softly. Kai smiled.

"My turn."

Tyson blinked.

"Uh. . . for what?"

"To take care of you."

Tyson's face flushed again but this time his eyes slid shut immediately and his hands slipped from Kai's to snake around his neck as Kai's lips pressed firmly against his own.

* * *

Max absently stirred the pot before him on the stove as his mind swirled in utter turmoil.

_"How unfair is this?"_ He thought miserably. _"After all we went through, all the sweet and adorable little moments, after hoping and praying against all hope that they'd remember telling us the one things we've both always wanted more then anything. . . they don't remember!!"_

"I think that's stirred enough, Max."

Ray's voice shook Max from his thoughts and the blonde looked down at his pot and frowned.

"Right. . . "

Ray laughed.

"You can start in on the veggies if you want."

"OK."

Ray watched Max as he shuffled over to the cutting board, picked up the knife and began chopping the correct veggies with practiced ease. After a while, noting the sad expression on the blonde's face, he spoke again.

"What's wrong, Max? You're so. . . down today, it's really not like you."

Max took a deep breath and resisted the urge to cry as he looked to the side and gave Ray a convincing smile.

"I'm fine, Ray. Really."

Ray frowned but turned back to what he was doing nonetheless.

Max blinked back the wetness in his eyes as he looked back down at the veggies. He couldn't believe that just days before he was the happiest teen on the planet when right then he was sure he was the most miserable.

"You're not as enthusiastic as usual, Max." Ray said softly after a while. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

Max chopped down hard on a piece of carrot, causing a rather loud bang and making Ray jump slightly.

"I said I'm fine." He said through clenched teeth, though, unbeknown to Ray, Max wasn't angry at the golden-eyed blader, he was angry at himself.

"I'm sorry, Max. . ." Ray said softly, not entirely sure what he was apologising for.

Max laid the knife down then and hung his head, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly as Ray starred in bewilderment.

"Max?" He said in concern, moving over to place a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Why. . . why are you crying?"

Max pulled away from Ray and reached up to wipe his eyes.

"I'm not crying." He said stubbornly. "It's the onions."

"There aren't any onions, Max."

Max blinked down at the cutting board and mentally cursed himself. Ray reached both hands up this time and placed them on Max's shoulders.

"I know there's something wrong. You can tell me, you always tell me what's wrong. . . "

Max sniffled once and looked up at Ray with a slightly angry expression.

"I'm upset because I don't want you to tell me you're sorry, Ray!" He almost shouted.

"I'm-" Ray bit his lip before he said 'I'm sorry' again. After pondering Max's words for a few moments, he opened his mouth to speak again.

"Then. . what do you want me to say, Max?"

"I want you to tell me what you told me last night!" He replied forcefully, though his tone and expression were both much softer this time.

A few moments of silence passed and Max's frown deepened as he starred at his teammate until finally he'd had enough.

"But then, you don't even know what I'm talking about do you?" He said a little bitterly. With a heavy sigh, his anger and defiance finally melted away to be replaced with a deep sadness.

"I'm sorry, Ray, none of this is your fault. . . I'm not angry with you, I just. . . I just need some time alone for a bit OK?"

Max turned to leave but Ray took his hand and once again stopped him. A loud gasp escaped the blonde as he was whirled around forced into the one thing he'd been craving almost ever since meeting Ray.

"Mmph. . ." Max mumbled against Ray's lips, a deep, hot flush painting his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

Ray looked at him through half-mast eyes and slowly pulled away, letting Max savor the too-short craving he'd longed for so long. When the two had finally separated, Ray smiled down at Max, his arms around the blonde's waist.

"Now that I'm older then you again, I'm allowed to do that aren't I?"

Max's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock.

"You. . . remembered. . ." He stated more then asked. Ray laughed lightly.

"Yea, I did. And, I'm glad I did. . . I hope I never forget."

Max closed his mouth and swallowed, a frown coming to his face as he thought of something.

"You knew all this time, knew what was bothering me, and still you let me go on. . . let me keep thinking that-"

"I'm sorry." Ray interrupted. "I was going to tell you, I swear, I just. . . wanted to wait for the right time."

Ray smiled then.

"But, for once, your patience didn't hold up long enough."

Max couldn't help but smile at this.

"I'm sorry, Ray." He said finally. "I should have known- . ."

"It's alright."

Ray pulled Max close to him and the blonde wrapped his arms around the taller teen as he leaned his head on his chest. Ray chuckled lightly as he reached up to stroke the blonde locks, much the same as Max had done with him the night before.

"As much as I love being in your arms," Ray began with a smile. "I think I like you being in mine just a little better."

Max laughed and looked up, his chin resting on Ray's chest as Sapphire met gold.

"Me too." He said softly. Ray smiled and reached one hand up to place his thumb and forefinger under Max's chin.

"Now that I'm old enough for it to mean something to you. . " He whispered softly, dipping his face down to meet Max's. "I love you, Max. . "

Max's heart fluttered sickeningly as Ray pressed their lips together for a second time; a soft, sensual kiss that sent waves of warmth through his body while the butterflies in his stomach danced furriously.

Just then the pots on the stove began to whistle and hiss as they boiled over, but not breaking the kiss, Ray simply reached past Max to turn them off. He had more important things to take care of.


End file.
